Deborah Rutter gave me my first job out of college at the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra back in 1992.  I am happy for her and proud to be able to say I know her.

_____________

Deborah F. Rutter, president of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association, will become the third president of the Kennedy Center in September. The center made the announcement at a press conference on Tuesday, after an 11-month national search for a new president to manage the country’s busiest performing arts center.

Rutter, 57, will succeed Michael M. Kaiser, who has led the Kennedy Center since 2001. As president, she will serve as both artistic and administrative director of the Kennedy Center’s theater, dance, chamber music, jazz programming and education initiatives, while overseeing the National Symphony Orchestra and the Washington National Opera.

Rutter has held the position of president of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association since 2003, where she was heralded for her fundraising abilities and recruitment of top classical talents including creative director maestro Riccardo Muti and cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who serves as a consultant for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. She received widespread praise for her educational initiatives in Chicago, serving more than 200,000 students ages 3 to 30. She is also known for her fundraising abilities, growing the endowment by $70 million at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Prior to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Rutter was executive director of the Seattle Symphony for 11 years, where she oversaw the building of the Orchestra’s home, Benaroya Hall. At the Kennedy Center, she will oversee the $100 million expansion project, for which fundraising is nearly completed with $90 million raised.

In an interview Tuesday, Rutter said she was attracted to the position by the wide array of arts offered at the Kennedy Center: “When you believe so much in the power of art to change people’s lives and that culture is a reflection of who we are, the opportunity to work not just in one specific field but to have the whole spectrum available is really exciting,” she said.

David Rubenstein, chairman of the Kennedy Center, praised Rutter’s record: “She had all the skills: an accomplished manager, a great love and knowledge of the arts, very good fundraising skills, a passion for community outreach,” he said. “The search committee spent a year and came to a unanimous decision that she was the best person in the country for the job.”

Source HERE.