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Michael Kaiser to Step Down in Aug 2014 Deborah Rutter Appointed


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In later-breaking news today, Deborah Rutter, President of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association, and former Seattle Symphony Executive Director, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra Executive Director, and Orchestra Manager of the Los Angeles Philharmonic has been named successor to Michael Kaiser as President of the Kennedy Center when he steps down in August 2014:

http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Kennedy-Center-names-1st-woman-to-lead-arts-group-5051720.php

I was lucky enough to meet her briefly during the fundraising efforts for Benaroya Hall. When she and Gerard Schwarz were at loggerheads, I know whom my vote was for leaving. She is renowned as a fundraiser and for creating financial stability while at the same time expanding programs in education and into the community.

flowers.gif Ms. Rutter.

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After reading strong praise for her by Washington Post music critic Anne Midgette - titled In world of divas, she's got harmony in the print edition - I'm really pleased.

In a field with its share of outsized personalities and internecine conflicts, Deborah Rutter appears to be an exception: one of those rare individuals everyone likes.

The news that Rutter, currently president of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, would succeed Michael Kaiser at the Kennedy Center in the fall was generally met in the classical music world with equal parts surprise and pleasure — something all the more evident when the reaction was unrehearsed.

. . .

Terms such as “team builder” and “strong collaborator” emerged frequently in descriptions of Rutter by those who know her — again, not a given in a field known for diva-like behavior. Some artistic administrators are best known for their programming visions. Rutter appears to be best known for spearheading major educational initiatives, eliminating deficits, and instilling a sense of fiscal responsibility in the organizations she’s worked for, from the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra to the Seattle Symphony to the Chicago Symphony.

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