Jonathan Bradley
executive director

Jonathan Bradley brings over 25 years of experience in New York City’s vibrant cultural landscape, committed to innovation, strategic growth, and impactful collaborations.

Jonathan most recently served as Executive Director of The Crossing, where he led the ensemble through five transformational seasons, sustainably doubling its production output and budget. Over his six years there, Jonathan executive produced 12 album releases, 24 commissioned world premieres, two international choral-theater projects, and significant collaborations with Carnegie Hall, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic. During this time, The Crossing won three Grammy Awards and nine nominations. In 2023, The Crossing was recognized as Musical America’s Ensemble of the Year, solidifying its position as one of the most innovative choirs in the United States.

Jonathan’s career also includes a decade-long tenure at Carnegie Hall, where he founded the Hall’s first cross-departmental Customer Experience Committee, which enhanced audience engagement across all customer touchpoints. He co-founded Carnegie Hall’s social media program and co-produced the Hall’s first viral video in collaboration with Charlie Todd and ImprovEverywhere. Since its release, “Conduct Us” has been viewed over 4 million times and inspired musical ensembles worldwide.

As Chief Marketing Officer at Primephonic, recently re-released as Apple Classical, Jonathan successfully merged classical music with digital innovation. His collaboration with the Bang on a Can All-Stars and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra demonstrated how contemporary classical artists could leverage digital platforms to expand their reach and engage new audiences.

Jonathan’s journey in the arts began at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where he earned a BFA in Theater, later leading to an MBA from CUNY Baruch Zicklin School of Business. Recognized for his deep commitment to impactful, purpose-driven, non-profit leadership, Jonathan has been an invited speaker at notable institutions, including Yale, Columbia, and NYU.

Beyond his professional accomplishments, Jonathan is a founding board member of Diamond Way Buddhist Centers USA and an international lecturer in this tradition. Over the past 25 years, he has given talks and led workshops across the U.S., Europe, Russia, China, Japan, and New Zealand. From 2008 to 2018, Jonathan served as President of the New York City Center on Park Avenue South, and from 2003 to 2019 served as Executive Co-Editor of the internationally circulated Buddhism Today Magazine.

Wesley Chinn - Artistic Administrator

Wesley’s career in arts administration dates back to high school, and encompasses positions at Carnegie Hall, where he was an Associate Manager in Artistic Programming, The Little Orchestra Society, and the New York Collegium. He also founded and ran a successful small opera company, Opera Omnia, and produced PDQ Bach’s 50th Anniversary Celebration.

A native of northern California, Wesley holds a degree in music and women’s studies from Harvard University. He has maintained an active life as a professional choral singer, music educator, and instrumentalist, and he is the music director of the Brooklyn Outlaw Chorus. Wesley lives with his wife Jennifer and their two children in Bushwick, and he has been known to cook with them live on Facebook.

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Wesley has also been a guest curator of our Voices of Connection blog.

Ray Henninger - Programs and Production Manager

Ray Henninger is a performer, educator and administrator from New York, and is delighted to be serving as the Artistic Operations and Production Manager, and Music Librarian for Voices of Ascension, while also overseeing the organization’s Marketing and Communications portfolio. Following joint degrees in Performance and Arts Administration from SMU, Ray spent five years as a professional French horn player, music director and conductor, podcast and theater-writer/developer, singer and public school music teacher in Dallas, Texas, and holds experience in multiple elements of nonprofit performing arts administration (development, communications, artistic support); stage and tour management, plus live and recorded concert production.

A native of far upstate NY, Ray takes inputs seriously, and has worked with managing farmers markets, tree-to-bottle cider-making, and cooking for others. Now based in South Brooklyn with a beloved partner and personable cat, Ray is a partner in DFW jazz club Revelers Hall, a former member of the board at The Wild Detectives, and is a member of Local-802, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Green-Wood Cemetery, and four public library systems. They enjoy cycling everywhere, reading books and meeting people on park benches, restoring vintage pedal steel guitars and brass instruments, hall and gallery acoustics, listening to live concert recordings, landscape architecture, and both really loud and really quiet music.

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Carolyn (Susie) Braden - Choral Personnel Manager

Carolyn Braden oversees the selection and contracting of professional singers for all Voices of Ascension concerts. Since 1999 she has assisted Voices Artistic Director Dennis Keene on his vocal choices to create the sound he seeks for the featured repertoire. Carolyn is the liaison between Voices and the professional singers. She majored in vocal performance at Missouri State University and The University of Texas (Austin) prior to moving to New York. She was a founding member of Voices of Ascension, and she has also performed with Concert Chorale of New York, The New York Choral Artists, Musica Sacra, Sacred Music in a Sacred Space, and various other professional choral groups in New York City as both an ensemble member and soloist. Carolyn recently retired from her job as an Executive Secretary at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center where she worked for 12 years.

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Carrie Elston - Director of Institutional Advancement

Carrie Elston received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University and Master of Fine Arts from Hunter College. She is a Director of The Prospect Hill Foundation, and she serves on the boards of Bronx River Alliance, Hunter Art Advisory Board, and Third Street Music School. 

Carrie is also a multimedia artist, and her work has been shown in museums and galleries around the world, from Bronx Museum in New York to Ars Electronica in Linz, Austria. She has held a number of residencies, including the Sharpe-Walentas Studio Program and Vermont Studio Center, and she is currently a BRIC Media Arts Fellow. Carrie is co-founder of the new media gallery and tech incubator IMC Lab + Gallery, and the Young Associates patron group of the Chelsea Art Museum. 

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Diane Lesser - Orchestra Personnel Manager

Diane Lesser is the principal oboist and personnel manager for the Voices of Ascension Orchestra. One of the top studio recording oboists in the country, she is the principal oboist of the New York Pops, Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra, and the Greenwich Symphony and Chamber Players. She performs regularly with dozens of New York City-area orchestras and choruses, and at prestigious summer music festivals across the country. Diane holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from the Juilliard School and Queens College. Active in the world of commercial music, she can be heard on recent recordings accompanying Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga, Madonna, Amy Winehouse, Lena Park, Barry Manilow and Paul Simon. She has recorded for movie soundtracks and hundreds of TV and radio commercials, and performed at such diverse venues as the Grammy Awards, Sesame Street, the 1992 Olympics in France, Z100’s Jingle Ball, The White House, and as soloist at Carnegie Hall with Alexander Schneider.

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bryan fisher - Operations manager

Bryan Fisher is a musician and administrator hailing from South Florida. His primary physical instrument is saxophone, but he received a degree in music production and business from Florida State University. He holds varied experience in the music industry, ranging from college radio to commercial studio recording. Bryan maintains an active interest in music outside the classical realm and is currently enjoying honky tonk country and city pop in equal measures. Outside of music, he enjoys weightlifting, 20th century American literature, and night-time walks in Prospect Park.

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