Our Mission Statement
Making Music encourages adult amateur and recreational musicians to pursue their fulfilling hobby and become part of a music making community. By advocating the physical, social, and psychological benefits of recreational music making, we intend to build demand for musical instruments and accessories.
At a Glance
Publication:
Bi-monthly consumer lifestyle magazine
Audience:
Adults 35+, $50,000+ average income
Circulation:
35,000 nationwide
Making Music Staff:
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Antoinette Follett
Antoinette Follett has more than 15 years in the publishing and marketing communications field. An expert in the field of the benefits of making music, at Bentley-Hall, Inc., where she is president, she has overseen marketing and communications projects for a number of companies in the music industry including Yamaha, Roland, and the American Federation of Musicians.
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Cherie Yurco
Cherie enjoys traveling and exploring world music. She has been a magazine journalist for more than 15 years, writing mostly about music for the past five years. A former clarinetist, she is currently taking piano lessons with her children.
STAFF WRITER
Meredith Laing
Meredith Laing started playing the violin at the age of three with the Suzuki method of playing by ear. Her interest in music blossomed in her high school years with the prestigious youth orchestras she was involved in (one of which performed at Carnegie Hall!), and she went on to study Music Performance at Syracuse University. Meredith earned her Bachelor’s of Music in 2007 and her Master’s of Music in 2009, holding a teaching assistantship and serving as concertmaster of the university orchestra during her graduate school years. Throughout school, Meredith’s professors often commented on her writing ability, and while completing her thesis during her final semester of graduate work, she finally considered sharing her love of music through a career in music journalism. Meredith feels lucky to have found a way to do this right in Syracuse, New York, while also working as a freelance violinist, teaching violin lessons, and hosting weekend programs on Central New York’s classical radio station, WCNY Classic FM.
STAFF WRITER
Jason Borisoff
Jason is completely nuts about music. Just ask his friends and family while they wait patiently for him to put his guitar down. Writing comes in at a close second, where he found it to be a great medium to exercise his imagination at an early age. Now, at Bentley-Hall, he gets the opportunity to fuse these two passions together. When he is not writing for BH, Jason can be found obsessively practicing jazz standards and Tony Rice licks, or fanning the embers of a fledgling music career. He is currently a senior at SUNY Oswego where he studies jazz guitar with Rick Balestra.
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Lisa Mergler-Santoro
Lisa believes in fixing and finding things. She collects martini recipes and photos of Bono. She may remember how to play "Rock of Ages" on an organ—thanks to Gramma Hazel—but that is the extent of her musical skills. Lisa loves listening to all types music, especially live performances, including her daughter's chorus group, son's cello recitals, and husband's piano performances in the living room. Having worked as a graphic designer for more than 20 years, she's found happiness designing this great magazine.
MARKETING DIRECTOR
Honore Stockley
Honore was classically trained on the French horn in her early years, but it wasn’t until her mid-30s that she decided to pick up both acoustic and electric guitar at the urging of her 10-year-old daughter (a burgeoning drummer and guitarist herself). Having spent a good portion of the late ’80s with a maroon mohawk, it is no surprise Honore is encouraging her daughter to learn the “classics” (the Clash, the Cure, and Duran Duran, of course!). Honore is also involved in various community activities, winning the “40 Under 40” award for her contributions to improving cultural and arts awareness in her hometown of Syracuse, New York.
WEB/MARKETING MANAGER
Jon Dufort
Jon Dufort struck out with the recorder back in third grade, and gave up too easily on his electric bass freshman year. After graduating from SUNY Potsdam with a degree in fine art, Jon tried his hand at many jobs including school portrait photographer, screen printer, barista, screw sorter and salesman. The new century brought a new beginning for Jon—at SUNY Oswego he learned to use the computer to express his visual sense.
After serving as a designer/writer/photographer/webmaster at Syracuse's alternative newsweekly for five years, he came to Making Music to support our mission.
ADVERTISING MANAGER
Krista Galster
Krista Galster has more than 15 years experience in media sales and marketing, having worked in radio and print. She graduated from SUNY Fredonia with a Bachelor's in English and Morrisville State College with a degree in Journalism/News Writing. Krista loves all genres of music and spends a lot 0f her time in the company of local musicians being that her significant other is a well respected musician - Gary Dunes of The "Gary Dunes Band" in Syracuse.
SUBSCRIPTION COORDINATOR
Andrea Marie Fragassi
Andrea is a self-proclaimed music addict, but admits to not being able to read a single note. Instead of making music herself, Andrea finds joy in watching and listening to others create, whether it’s live, or simply through her beloved iPod. As a huge believer in the idea of engaging in music-related activities as a form of recreation, she holds degrees in Sports & Recreation Management from Cortland State. Her recreation repertoire also includes painting, photography, golf, and wiffle ball among many other outdoor-related activities. A random turn of events led Andrea to land a speaking part as “CoWorker” in the independent feature film “Lonely Joe” produced in the fall of ‘07. In addition to creative expression and making the most out of life, one of Andrea’s biggest goals is to travel to every U.S. state. She is very excited to promote Making Music and agrees that it is a must-read for every musician—young and old.
PUBLISHER
Bentley-Hall, Inc
