Following a nationwide search, Kate Sheeran, an accomplished educator and academic administrator, new music champion, and professional musician who has served since 2015 as provost and dean of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, has been chosen as the new executive director of Kaufman Music Center in New York. She will assume the new position in mid-August.
Sheeran, also a former Assistant Dean at Mannes School of Music at The New School in New York, succeeds the retiring Lydia Kontos. Over nearly 40 years of leadership, Kontos took what was once called the Hebrew Arts School and spearheaded its growth and transformation into Kaufman Music Center, a multi-faceted education and cultural institution that is home to New York City’s premier stage for contemporary classical music, the favored stage for chamber music and many other performances, the largest community arts school in New York, and the top-rated K-12 public school in the city and the only one with music as a core curriculum discipline.
“Kate not only possesses an outstanding range of skills, but also brings with her a unique perspective as both an educator and an administrator, as a musician and a new music advocate, and as an outsider and an insider,” said Cathy O’Rourke, president of the Kaufman Music Center Board and chair of the Search Committee, noting that Sheeran has performed at Merkin Concert Hall, Kaufman’s performance space, and that during her tenure at Mannes, she worked in partnership with Kaufman on a number of initiatives.
About Kaufman Music Center
Kaufman Music Center stimulates appreciation of and participation in music through music performance and education in ways that awaken creativity, advance innovation and create a sense of wonder among performers, students, teachers and the public at large. At Kaufman Music Center, music lovers - from curious fans to renowned performers - come together to explore their musical passions.
Published: July 02, 2018