Staff

Dr. Chris Wild is proud to serve the excellent music students of Indiana’s Wabash River Valley as Artistic Director of the Wabash Valley Youth Symphony. Before moving to Indianapolis with his wife, Chris worked in Chicago and southwest Michigan, spending four years as Orchestra Director of the Andrews University Symphony Orchestra and teaching cello at Andrews and the University of Notre Dame.

Many years prior, his musical studies began as a cellist in Vancouver, Canada. A dual citizen, he moved stateside to attend the University of Michigan, graduating with a BM and MM in cello performance and music education. Upon graduation, Chris moved to Chicago where he worked in parallel as an orchestra teacher and as cellist for Ensemble Dal Niente. Eventually, he returned to school to complete a DMA in Orchestral Conducting at Northwestern University. More info on Dr. Wild.

Christina Nemcik Mongold is a classically trained musician originally from Bloomington, Indiana who through her love for worldwide travel, found her way into International Fine Arts Program Development and then Global Sales and Business Development. Christina left her career in 2018 to tackle her most challenging and rewarding position thus far, CEO of the Mongold Family. Day to day, Christina spends much of her time raising two bright and very energetic young boys together with her husband, Dr. Jonathan Mongold.

Recently, Christina has been busier than ever supporting her local community through volunteerism and philanthropic pursuits. In her various roles, Christina has raised funds for local organizations, garnered several impactful donations, and helped raise a substantial donation to the local YWCA. Many times throughout her terms, Christina has been invited as a panelist to give talks within the community. Christina has given presentations geared towards inspiring young people of color in her community to pursue the Arts. She serves on the PTO of her children’s school and is a member of the national organization, MOPS. Christina is an avid birdwatcher, fanatical supporter of PBS and public radio, and a prolific reader of the historical fiction genre. She plays Horn around the state of Indiana, taking local gigs in churches, universities, and with community/volunteer musical ensembles.

Dr. Huai-Rhin Kim is an educator and faculty member at Purdue University, where she serves as Director of the Korean Program, the Purdue Interdisciplinary Center for Korean Studies, and the Purdue King Sejong Institute. Her work focuses on language and culture education, and she is especially passionate about creating meaningful learning opportunities for students both at Purdue and in the broader community.

Dr. Kim has a special connection to the Wabash Valley Youth Symphony as the mother of three daughters who have participated in WVYS over the years. Through her daughters’ experiences, she has seen firsthand the important role WVYS plays in bringing young musicians together and enriching the local community. She is delighted to support the organization as Rehearsal Manager and looks forward to working with WVYS students and families.