Our Board
Alex Swartsel Board Chair
Alex Swartsel (Board Chair) has been a member of the Capital City Symphony Board of Directors since 2012. An inclusive leader and strategist committed to a future in which all people have the resources they need to fully realize their potential, Alex has been praised for her “uncanny ability to assess challenging situations and design clear strategic paths forward.” She currently consults for organizations focusing on quality jobs and economic mobility, and previously served as Chief of Development, Finance, and External Affairs of Teach For America (TFA)'s D.C. Region, where she oversaw fundraising, finance, and communications for a $5M, 22-person team supporting over 3,000 educators and leaders. Before joining TFA, her career included work in the U.S. Senate, national politics, and a global trade association.
Alex’s commitment to the transformative power of music and to strengthening D.C.’s arts community extends from CCS to the Choral Arts Society of Washington, where she is a member of the chorus and has served as chorus President since 2018. A native of Orlando, Florida, Alex holds a B.A. in Political Science and Music from Wellesley College and an M.B.A. from Yale.
Virginia Elgin Vice Chair
Virginia Elgin (Vice Chair) joined the Board in 1997, attracted by the opportunity the orchestra afforded her daughter to continue playing cello after leaving university. She has served as Corresponding Secretary, Co-Chair from 2002 to 2005 and Chair from 2008 to 2013. Virginia worked in Singapore and London before moving to the DC area to work at the British Embassy. Now retired from managing her husband's medical practice she continues to enjoy choral singing, which she has done since the age of nine, and has recently celebrated her fiftieth year as a member of a local church choir.
Deborah Edge
Deborah Edge is a string bass player with Capital City Symphony and lives on Capitol Hill. She retired from the practice of internal medicine in June 2015. Prior to that, she had founded and worked in a private internal medicine practice on Capitol Hill, Washington Primary Care Physicians, for over 30 years and, after leaving her practice, worked half time for four years in the medical clinic at SOME. She is now able to spend as much time as she can playing music. She is a member of the Capitol City Symphony (first chair), NIH Philharmonia, FMMC Chorale Orchestra. She regularly plays with a pianist, and they have regular coaching sessions. She has participated annually with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Side-by-Side summer program, playing orchestral and chamber music there for one week/year. She plays chamber music whenever given the chance. When not playing her string bass, Deborah can be found volunteering for Hawk Mountain Sanctuary ( where she is on the board), biking, swimming, or enjoying being a new grandma. She lives on Capital Hill with her husband, Neal Mann. They have two grown daughters, and one new grandson.
Phil Guire Treasurer
Phil Guire, originally from Ann Arbor Michigan, has been in Washington DC for more than 25 years. He has been a successful real estate agent for the last 20+ years. During that time, he has built one of DC's most successful real estate teams with nearly $ 1 billion in sales. Phil moved to DC originally to do fundraising for nonprofits and political causes. He thinks fondly on his time as the membership director and corporate fundraiser for Washington Performing Arts.
Phil is passionate about the arts and feels that his cello playing experience was seminal in his maturation. Outside of work, he enjoys time with his family, Sarah, Lucas, and Catie. If he isn't working or with them, he might be found on a golf course.
Howard Spendelow Recording Secretary
Howard Spendelow joined the CCS Board in the late 20th century and has served as Recording Secretary throughout the entire current millennium. As a History teacher (East Asia / “World”) at Georgetown University since 1979, he learned about the CCS back when it was the Georgetown Symphony Orchestra and performed in historic Gaston Hall on-campus.
Howard’s main artistic interest is in choral music. He’s been a member of the Oberlin Musical Union, the Memorial Church Choir at Harvard, and even a semester with Moscow State University’s Academic Choral Collective. Since 1980 he’s performed with the Choral Arts Society of Washington.
Charlton (Chuck) Templeton
Mr. Templeton comes to the Capital City Symphony after spending 14 years as principal tubist with the Georgia Philharmonic in Atlanta. A Nebraska native, Chuck he began his musical career with the Omaha Area Youth Orchestra before attending the University of Nebraska on the Westbrook Memorial Scholarship for Music Performance. During college, Chuck also was accepted to the 43rd Army National Guard Ceremonial Band based in Lincoln, Nebraska, and received military and musical training at Fort Leonard Wood, MO.
Mr. Templeton was a student of Craig Fuller, himself a student of the renowned Harvey Phillips, as well as Don Strand of the Atlanta Ballet. He holds a BS in information systems and an MBA from the Georgia Institute of Technology and received a diploma from the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at the University of Pennsylvania, where he also earned a Wharton Leadership Certificate.
As a Chief at the FDIC, Mr. Templeton leads a team responsible for implementing the statutory authorities of the Dodd-Frank legislation and ending too-big-to-fail. Previously he held a variety of positions in mergers and acquisitions and portfolio management for Bank of America and First Data Corporation. Chuck resides in the Capital Hill neighborhood of Washington, D.C.; when not counting rests in the back row, he is an avid BMW motorcycle enthusiast and can never seem to find enough books on U.S. history and politics.
Crystal Hill
Crystal Hill is originally from Virginia Beach Virginia, and now resides in the District of Columbia. Crystal has worked in the federal government as an Operations Research Analyst and now serves as a Program Manager with the Department of Homeland Security.
Crystal is a classically trained violinist and has played since her childhood. Though she is not actively playing with an orchestra, she is delighted to integrate her love for music and service to the community by being a member of the Capital City Symphony Board of Directors. She earned a Bachelor of Science from James Madison University and a Master of Science from Virginia Commonwealth University. In her spare time, she enjoys biking, reading, and playing her violin.
Jason Markzon
Jason Markzon is excited to join the Capital City Symphony Board in 2023 after his first year as timpanist with the orchestra. He believes that performing arts organizations have the ability to build and nurture community both on and off the stage.
Now a principal business consultant at The MITRE Corporation, Jason led a decade-long career as a percussionist, performing full-time as principal percussion with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, and appearing with some of the nation’s most well-known orchestras, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, Detroit Symphony, and Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.
Jason holds a B.M. in Performance from the University of Michigan, M.M from Temple University, and M.P.A. in economic development, nonprofit management, and policy analysis from Indiana University O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Jason lives in the D.C. neighborhood of Brookland with his wife, Marilyn Turner. In his free time, he enjoys playing music, hiking and long distance running.
Andrew Fordham Orchestra Representative
Andrew Fordham, a native of northern Illinois, has been principal horn with the Capital City Symphony since 2017. After receiving his Bachelor of Music Education degree from Northern Illinois University, Andrew went on to a career as a musician in the United States Air Force, serving with the Band of Mid-America, the Band of Liberty, and The United States Air Force Band. After retiring from military service, he received a Master of Library and Information Science degree. Since then, Andrew has been a librarian and data management specialist in the Washington, DC area. He lives with his wife, Avril (a flutist with the Capital City Symphony), in Kingman Park.
Sarah Hanks Orchestra Representative
Sarah Hanks is a longtime resident, community builder, violin teacher and performer, and proponent of arts education on Capitol Hill. She is a graduate of Florida State University School of Music with a degree in Music Education, String Instrumental, and moved to DC in 2004, where she implemented and taught a string orchestra program at KIPP DC: Key Academy from 2004-2009. There she built the program and was recognized as DCPS first year teacher of the year in 2005. She has been teaching Suzuki violin at the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop since 2009 where she has a thriving studio of 35 private violin students ranging from ages 3 through adult. Making the arts accessible and enjoyable to everyone in the city is a core value.