Board of Directors
Tara Coleman is a violinist with FWCO, and has enjoyed reuniting with her original love of music. She first developed her skills as a child playing piano and violin in school and church. After graduating high school, she went on to receive her undergraduate degree in English from Northwestern State University of Louisiana and later on would earn her graduate degree in Environmental Communications & Culture from the University of Glasgow in Scotland, UK. Tara has a hospitality, communications, and public relations background developed over the last twenty years, leading to her career as the Financial Communications Manager for the City of Dallas.
Tara and her wife moved to Fort Worth in 2020 from Louisiana with their two pups Theo & Finn. They serve in their community as foster parents and help in animal rescue. In her free time, Tara enjoys traveling and spending time outdoors in nature while reading and writing.
Beverly Howard is a retired university music professor and organist, having earned B. Mus. and M.M. degrees in organ performance from the University of Oklahoma and a D.M.A. in organ and theory from the University of North Texas. Upon retiring, she relocated from southern California to Fort Worth.
Although retired from full time positions, she maintains an active schedule substituting as organist in local churches. She is also a published author in the field of hymnology. Most recently, she was a collaborating author on the hymnology text Sing with Understanding: An Introduction to Christian Hymnology (2023).
By joining the cello section of the FWCO in 2017, she is fulfilling a dream of playing in an
orchestra. The FWCO is an exceptional community of musicians dedicated to playing wonderful
literature. She studies cello with Dr. Hsinyi Wang, professor of music at Tarrant County College.
Born in Pittsburgh, Dalena embarked on her musical journey at the age of 4 after moving to Köln, Germany. Her passion for the violin began under the guidance of Herr Tsubaki and later Mika Hasler, of Houston, TX. After years immersed in the Suzuki method, Dalena joined her first orchestra, the Houston Youth Symphony at age 9, prompting her love for orchestral music.
Upon returning to Pittsburgh, Dalena studied with the late Hong-Guang Jia of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Under his instruction, she expanded her orchestral experiences, participating in Three Rivers Young Peoples Orchestra and later the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony, including an unforgettable Eastern European tour at age 16. She served as her high school concertmistress, participated in annual orchestra competitions, and was a member of her high school drumline.
Dalena earned a bachelor's degree in International Studies from Virginia Tech, followed by a master's degree in Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh. After living in South Korea for five years as an ESL Teacher, Dalena relocated to the DFW area, where she discovered new opportunities to play the violin.
She currently plays for the FWCO as well as the New Texas Symphony Orchestra, forging new friendships and cherishing the memories she creates along the way.
Born and raised in El Paso, Texas, Patricio Lopez moved to the DFW area in 2012. He currently works for a large Healthcare Organization in Arlington, TX, in the field of Human Resources.
He started off playing cello in elementary school through high school but later found a passion for the viola when going to the University of Texas at El Paso, which led him to change instruments. He played with the UTEP Symphony Orchestra and graduated with a degree in Business Administration. Upon moving to Fort Worth in 2012, he began playing with the Fort Worth Civic Orchestra in the viola section.
In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with family and friends, traveling whenever he gets the opportunity and has a pet Pomeranian named Onyx.
Brendan J. Marcum Carter is an American cellist from El Paso, TX. Brendan started his musical journey in the fall of 2005 when he picked up the cello for the first time and quickly joined the both Youth Symphonies in the El Paso region. Developing a passion for music and leadership, Brendan was the Orchestra President of Coronado High School and both of the youth symphonies to which he belonged between the years of 2009-2013.
In 2017, Brendan earned his bachelors degree in Music Performance from the University of North Texas studying under Professor Nikola Nino Ružević. Mr. Marcum Carter held a position on the University of North Texas College of Music Advisory Counsel during his senior year. Brendan is currently the Resident Director Assistant for the Flower Mound office of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. Mr. Marcum Carter is the Principal Cellist with the Fort Worth Civic Orchestra and the New Philharmonic Orchestra of Irving. He has also appeared as a soloist, chamber musician, and an orchestral player for multiple orchestras in North America and Canada. Currently, Brendan resides in Euless, Texas with his two dogs, Baby and Suge.
Now retired, Steve Moore earned degrees in Landscape Architecture and Horticulture from Texas A&M University and worked in the horticulture retail industry for over 40 years.
He studied piano privately all through his youth and participated in annual National Piano Guild Auditions. He also played in a marimba troupe in his hometown of Bryan, Texas during his high school and college years. In high school, he made 1st chair All-State Percussion II after district, region and state competitions. He began playing timpani with the Rice University Campanile Orchestra, where he performed for over 10 years.
Steve has served as FWCO's timpanist and principal percussionist since 2006 after moving to Fort Worth in 2004. He enjoys gardening, classical music, knitting and crochet and reading.
Doug Omundson has enjoyed rich musical adventures through playing the tuba. He studied music at the Cleveland Institute of Music, the Peabody Conservatory, and Arizona State University. Teachers include Matt Good, Arnold Jacobs, Sam Pilafian, Dave Fedderly, Patrick Sheridan, and Ron Bishop. He currently holds principal tuba positions with the Fort Worth Civic Orchestra, Brazos Chamber Orchestra, Northeast Orchestra, Texas Chamber Music Project, Central Texas Medical Orchestra, and Fort Worth Medical Orchestra. Doug played professionally with the Washington, D.C. based Monumental Brass Quintet, and has performed with the Cleveland Winds, the El Paso Symphony, the Mesa Symphony, the Tempe Symphony, and the Heartland Philharmonic. Doug is also a well-versed solo player, having given numerous recitals and made solo appearances with the Brevard Music Center, the Cleveland State University wind ensemble, Arizona State's inaugural "Octubafest", a Society of Composers conference, the Central Texas Medical Orchestra, and the FWCO.
A Texas native, Doug Omundson was raised in El Paso and after living in many places around the country is happy to call Fort Worth home. He works as a registered nurse and holds a masters degree in business administration, a bachelor of science in nursing, and a bachelor of science in microbiology. In spare time Doug and his wife, Katie, a violinist with the FWCO, enjoy trying to keep their three rescue dogs, Gustopher Robin, Chippy Mayfair, and Lord Percival, out of trouble.
A product of FWISD, the Youth Orchestra of Greater Fort Worth, and UTA Symphony, Andrea Petrovic is re-igniting her passion for performing and is currently serving her first season with the Fort Worth Civic Orchestra.
Andrea studied viola and received a Bachelors of Music at the University of Texas at Arlington. She then went on to receive her Masters of Organization with an emphasis in Learning and Technology from Texas A&M University at Commerce. After five years as a middle school orchestra director, Andrea decided to pursue her interests in the program management industry and to return to performing her viola.
Outside of FWCO Board duties and playing her viola, Andrea enjoys cozy gaming and spending time with her little-guy-but-big-personality budgie, Rosko. 
The current concertmaster of the FWCO, Dan Stevens is an engineer at Lockheed Martin. A native of Fort Worth, and a product of the FWISD, Dan was a member of the Youth Orchestra of Greater Fort Worth, and in high school was member of the TMEA All State Orchestra all 4 years and played in the TCU symphony, serving as principal violist of all. At the age of 17 he was offered a position in the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra by Maestro John Giordano.
Originally a music major, he attended TCU on scholarship and then the Julliard School where he studied viola with William Lincer and chamber music with the Julliard String Quartet. He participated in master classes with many master artists including Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, and Ruggierio Ricci, and was a member of the National Orchestral Association Training Orchestra based in Carnegie Hall where he was exposed to many of the greatest conductors of the day. However after 4 years of total immersion in the music world, he decided to spend some time pursuing his interests in Science and ended up earning a degree in mechanical engineering.
As an engineer with a steady day job, he found that he could participate in both of his loves. As a young engineer at General Dynamics he was invited to join a rehearsal of the FWCO by some co-workers. He was quickly pushed up to principal violist by the other members of the section. In 1990, when the orchestra's fine young concertmaster moved away, conductor Yves L'Helgoual'ch asked Dan if he would move over to violin and play concertmaster, and except for a few years when he was away form Fort Worth for jobs in Virginia and Waco, he has been concertmaster and an active volunteer for the FWCO ever since.
He currently serves as a board member, a member of the Carol Competition and Young Artist committees, and is the orchestra manager and concertmaster for the University Christian Church's Boar's Head and Yule Log Festival for which the FWCO has provided the orchestra for over 20 years. He is also a past board president and a past chair of the orchestra committee and was heavily involved in the production of the 5 PDQ Bach summer concerts, even working with Peter Schickele and performing the world premier of the PDQ Bach composition, "The Only Piece Ever Written for Violin and Tuba" in Bass Hall. Outside of the FWCO Dan has played in the Austin, Waco, Fort Worth, and Wichita Falls Symphonies, The Dallas Opera Orchestra, the Brazos Chamber Orchestra, and is a member of the professional ensemble, Forte' Strings. When he can find the time, his hobbies include golf and high performance driving.
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