Allegro Welcomes New Executive Director and Nextgen Directors

As Allegro heads into its 2025-26 season, we’re moving forward with new faces and bright eyes towards the future! 

Since 2019, Paul Richer led Allegro Orchestra Lancaster as our CEO. Managing the organization at the operational, functional, and strategic levels, Paul supported our mission with his deep knowledge of the business and nonprofit worlds, decades of community involvement, and his enduring passion for music. Now enjoying a well-deserved retirement, Paul will remain on the Allegro Board and as a member of our Finance and Development Action Committee. We’re grateful for his continued dedication to this organization! 

As of August, Allegro has appointed Caroline Burns as Executive Director. Caroline has been involved with Allegro for three years now, first serving on our Board of Directors, then as Marketing Coordinator. She comes to the organization with a Masters in Arts Administration from Drexel University and a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Ithaca College. Caroline has already jumped in to managing the logistical and functional work supporting the organization, and is excited to begin planning and implementing strategic initiatives to expand Allegro’s impact and reach. Prior to (and partly during) her work with Allegro, Caroline worked with Allegro founder Brian Norcross in Franklin & Marshall College’s Music Department as the department’s administrative coordinator. She will continue to head marketing initiatives while overseeing Allegro’s development and fundraising efforts, logistical details, finance and budgeting, and overall operations. 

Allegro has also made some exciting changes to the leadership and structure of our Nextgen Youth Music Program with new (and returning) staff as well as a redesign of our programming. In June, Allegro’s Nextgen brought on Program Directors Francis Caravella and Robert Schaubach. Mr. Francis Caravella is the former Orchestra Director at Manheim Township High School, where he taught Orchestra for 33 years. While at Manheim Township, he also served as the Department Coordinator and taught AP Music Theory and IB Music. Mr. Caravella is now in his  25th year as musical pit orchestra conductor for the Manheim Township Performing Arts Spring Musical. Along with Dr. Norcross, Mr. Caravella developed the original concept for Allegretto and was the assistant conductor for more than a decade. Mr. Caravella is a past President of the Lancaster-Lebanon Music Educators Association (LLMEA). He holds a Master of Music Theory from West Chester University and a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from Millersville University. He is an award-winning composer of string orchestra and choral music and continues to be active as a performer, composer, and arranger. Currently, Mr. Caravella serves as the Assistant Music Director at Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre, where he is also a regular performer on guitar and bass. Mr. Caravella will rejoin Dr. Norcross on the Allegretto podium as assistant conductor and director and will co-direct the new junior string orchestra, Crescendo. 

Mr. Robert A. Shaubach is a recently retired music educator currently working as a professional musician and in the printing industry. His 33 years of experience in the Manheim Township and Lampeter-Strasburg School Districts includes teaching band and orchestra classes to students in grades 4 through 12, hosting numerous honors orchestra festivals, conducting theater orchestras for school productions, and serving as a marching band staff member and arranger. Mr. Shaubach is a member of the American String Teachers Association and Pennsylvania Music Educators Association, where he currently serves as District 7 Immediate Past President. A lifelong Lancaster County resident, he is a graduate of Boston University (M.M.E.), Millersville University (B.S.E.), and Pequea Valley High School. Mr. Shaubach performs as a clarinetist in Allegro Orchestra Lancaster and as a woodwind musician in the Fulton Theater Orchestra. 

With Scott Kaliszak and Anthony Scheuerman continuing in their directing and conducting of Overture, and our upcoming PMEA District 7 Band and Orchestra Audition Clinic, Allegro’s Nextgen is gearing up for our most exciting and innovative season yet! 

Allegro is introducing exciting new programming and revitalization of our beloved Music in the Round series. This season, we will be taking the majority of our Music in the Round performances to the newest destination in downtown Lancaster’s vibrant art scene: The Lancaster Art Vault! We are also re-introducing matinee performances to give our audience more opportunities to experience the joyful music of Allegro, and exploring more advanced catering options to provide a truly unique and well-rounded community music experience. We’re also thrilled to announce that each of our summer performances will be held at Franklin & Marshall College’s splendid Barshinger Center: arguably the best concert hall in town! 

We are so excited to share all these changes with the Lancaster Community; each of these changes are geared specifically towards the advancement of our mission: to expand the appreciation and love for classical music across multiple generations in Lancaster County by making great music accessible in new, friendly, and playful ways.

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