Meet the Staff &
Board of Directors

Audra Bielke has served as Executive Director of the Fredericksburg Symphony Orchestra since its founding in 2021, guiding the organization from a bold pandemic-era launch into one of the region's most celebrated cultural institutions. Under her leadership, the FSO has grown rapidly, consistently filling the 1,000-seat Monroe Auditorium and expanding its community and education outreach across Central Virginia.

Prior to establishing the FSO, Audra built a distinguished career in arts management as the Executive Director and Operations Manager of the University of Mary Washington Philharmonic Orchestra, where she helped deliver internationally acclaimed programming and deepen the orchestra's regional impact. A native of Wayzata, Minnesota, she has made the Fredericksburg area her home for more than 18 years. She holds a B.A. in International Relations and East Asian Studies from Bucknell University and an M.A. in International Economics and China Studies from The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University.

Audra is passionate about building meaningful community connections through music, crafting engagement initiatives that help audiences experience orchestral performance in ways that resonate with their own lives. She takes particular pride in cultivating relationships with Symphony Supporters and witnessing the joy and educational opportunities the FSO brings to the greater Fredericksburg community. She lives in southern Fauquier with her daughter and is an avid equestrian, animal lover, and proud Corgi owner.

Nora McIntire serves as Operations Manager of the Fredericksburg Symphony Orchestra, bringing a versatile percussion performance career and deep roots in the regional musical community to the organization's day-to-day artistic and production leadership. A seasoned orchestral percussionist, she has performed with many ensembles across central and northern Virginia, including the Rappahannock Pops Orchestra, the Virginia Cello Ensemble, the Old Bridge Chamber Orchestra, the Mid-Atlantic Wind Symphony, and the Richmond Philharmonic Orchestra. She spent ten years with the University of Mary Washington Philharmonic Orchestra as both a student and an alumna, most recently as Principal Percussionist (The Charles and Mary Wynn McDaniel Chair).

During her tenure with the UMW Philharmonic, Nora shared the stage with several world-class artists, including Itzhak Perlman, Joshua Bell, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Arturo Sandoval, Jose Carreras, Tony Bennett, Paul Anka, Kristin Chenoweth, Renee Fleming, Michael Feinstein, Henry Winkler, LeVar Burton, and Rick Steves.

Born and raised in the Fredericksburg area, Nora holds a Bachelor's degree in Music from Mary Washington College and pursued her graduate studies in Music Theory and Percussion Performance at the Benjamin T. Rome School of Music of The Catholic University of America. She is excited to continue her work with the FSO and looks forward to making music with its talented musicians.

Robyn Bauer serves as Concertmaster of the Fredericksburg Symphony Orchestra, bringing a lifelong devotion to the violin and a deep history of regional performance and music education to the ensemble's artistic leadership. A native of King George, Virginia, she began studying violin at age six and went on to earn a Bachelor of Music degree from James Madison University. Her multifaceted career has included teaching private violin lessons, leading elementary music instruction, and working at a local radio station, while she has performed extensively across the region with the UMW Philharmonic (serving as concertmaster for five years), the Rappahannock Pops Orchestra, St. Paul's Masterworks Chorus, the Fredericksburg Community Chorus, the Stafford Regional Choral Society, and the Fredericksburg Chamber Chorale.

Beyond her work with the FSO, Robyn performs regularly as a freelance musician throughout the Fredericksburg area, explores tango and gypsy jazz with the ensemble Whiskey Django Foxtrot, and rocks out on electric violin, rhythm guitar, and vocals with NoVa-based band Juniper Lights. She is also the music director at Art Time 4 Kids in downtown Fredericksburg, where she teaches, trains teachers, and composes curriculum for her original music and movement program for young children. She lives in Spotsylvania with her husband and three children.