Keith Glavash grew up in Illinois, his family very active in a Lutheran parish.  He sang in his church’s youth choir, took piano lessons, and played tuba in his high school band prior to college and graduate school – the latter bringing him to Boston.  His first visit to All Saints was to attend an Evensong in the late 1970s, shortly after graduating from the New England Conservatory as an organ major.  One of his NEC teachers – Donald Teeters – was then Music Director at All Saints, and the Reverend W. Christian Koch was Rector.  At the time, Keith was music director at a Methodist church in Watertown, but eager to move to an Episcopal parish.

When in 1980 the Brookline School Department cut back on its music and arts curriculum, All Saints made the decision to launch a new children’s choir program.  By reaching out to offer a quality music education opportunity open to any child – whether affiliated with the parish or not – it held the potential benefit of drawing young families from the community to All Saints.  Keith was appointed Assistant Director of Music in 1981, with the primary responsibility of establishing the children’s choir program. When he retired from All Saints in 2012, the Schola was an integral part of the Parish’s music program, which itself was a defining feature of All Saints.

In addition to his music-related activities, Keith began working full-time in the MIT Libraries in 1980 to earn a living.  His early positions there offered the necessary flexibility for a young, aspiring musician trying to make the most out of the lively and diverse Boston classical music scene.  At the time he retired from MIT in 2018, he had held the position of Associate Director of Libraries for Administration for 15 years.

Keith married Marylène Altieri at All Saints in 1979, having met her singing in the Boston Cecilia.  Marylène’s presence as one of the choir section leaders at All Saints made his appointment at the church something of a family affair, and provided a strong reason to make it a long-term commitment.  Their daughter (now married and a mother herself, living in Oregon) was born in 1990 and had no choice but to join her parents regularly at All Saints.  By that time the Schola was well-established and growing too large to manage as a single group, which led to the formation of a separate training choir – the Cherubs.

Enough years have passed since being a member of the All Saints staff that Keith feels joining the Vestry is appropriate at this time.  His nearly 50-year perspective of the parish, as well as the administrative experience he gained through his MIT career, should serve him well in contributing to the future of this blessed place.

Jessica (Walling) Stokes has been a life-long parishioner at All Saints. She started attending at the age of seven when her family moved to Brookline. Mary Dunlap was her Sunday School teacher. Keith Glavash taught her to sing in the very first ASP Children’s Choir. Her father (Wib Walling) served on the vestry for many years. When Jessica and her husband Colin moved back to Brookline after a decade in New York City, it was a joy to return to All Saints as her spiritual home, and raise their children in this congregation.

Over the past several years, Jessica has served on the Family Advisory Committee, the Nominating Committee, the Music Director Search Committee, the Migrant Shelter team, as the leader of the “Where the Bible Shows Up” High School discussion group, and in her current role as Chair of the Welcoming Committee. These roles have provided an opportunity to “give back” just a fraction of her gratitude for the many blessings ASP gives us: for Richard’s wisdom, for Stephan and the choir’s artistry, for the lay leadership, for our gorgeous physical worship space, and most of all for our beautiful community.

In between Sundays, Jessica works (and travels the world) as an internal strategist for Ernst & Young.

Emily Smith-Sturr is a cradle Episcopalian and has been a member of All Saints Parish for over 30 years. She joined the choir and started attending regularly while living in Brookline. When she moved back to her hometown of Melrose in 1997, she continued to make the long drive to Brookline because All Saints was her such an important part of her life. She and her husband Ted continue to make the trip, although the often take advantage of the livestream broadcast these days. Between them, Emily and Ted have 3 adult children.

Emily is a physical therapist, currently working in an administrative role supporting clinical education at Mass General Hospital. She is passionate about bringing out the best in the students and clinical instructors, so they can take excellent care of their patients.

In her free time, she loves to travel and explore new places (she and Ted are working on visiting all 50 states!). She is an avid knitter, a music lover, a cook, and book lover. She enjoys spending time with her family, and her happy place is in the Champlain Islands in Vermont.

Emily is looking forward to returning to the Vestry after a long hiatus. In the past she was active in the choir, co-chaired the Outreach committee, and has served on several discernment, search and event committees.