Jean Lyons Lotus, Co-Director

Jean Lyons Lotus grew up in Fort Collins and served as director for seven years of a branch of Church of Beethoven in founder Felix Wurman's hometown of  Oak Park, Illinois.
Concerts in Oak Park were held monthly in a small 70-seat community theater with the help of the late record store proprietor, Val Camilletti, who knew and encouraged Felix Wurman as a teenager. 
When Jean returned to Fort Collins, she built a business plan for starting a Church of Beethoven branch with the help of the Larimer County Extension and the Family Leadership Training Institute.
Jean works as a journalist with an expertise writing about the emerging industrial hemp industry. In 2021, she published an online trade publication about hemp building materials. 

Leslie Merriman, Co-Director

Leslie on a Church of Beethoven Sunday morning in Albuquerque, 2008.

Leslie met Felix Wurman in 2008, the year he founded Church of Beethoven in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  She was a scrappy graduate student studying evolutionary psychology and co-running an Argentine Tango club.  Felix drove a solar-powered jeep around the desert, with his dog "Tango,"  5-stringed cello, espresso machine, and painted surfboard in the back, repurposed into a "BEETHOVEN" sign for the C of B.   In the quirky atmosphere of the Barelas neighborhood, Leslie jumped at the chance to assist Felix with his project, becoming a close friend and co-conspirator.       A long-time arts enthusiast with professional background in arts administration, education, and performance, Dr. Merriman is also a clinical psychologist with specialized experience in contemplative practices.  In 2020 she founded METTAWELL, a source for holistic wellness services for heart-centered healing, from one to community and beyond.  This summer, METTAWELL teamed up with the Hillside Vineyard to sponsor our first season of a Wellness & Wine program, featuring yoga and wine in the beautiful outdoor setting of the Hillside Vineyard.

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