The Grant Music Festival in Chicago has announced three administrative appointments: JOHN RYAN, orchestra personnel manager; MELISSA HILKER, chorus personnel manager; and ESKA LASKUS, operations and education manager.
JOHN RYAN, orchestra personnel manager, was a professional cellist in Denver, Nashville, and Chicago before turning to administration in 1999. In addition to his new duties at Grant Park Music Festival he serves as artistic operations manager for Chicago’s Music of the Baroque.
MELISSA HILKER, chorus personnel manager, has worked for the Washington Bach Consort and the Cathedral Choral Society, both in Washington, D.C. She holds a graduate certificate in arts management from that city’s American University, and is currently a member of the Apollo Chorus of Chicago.
ESKA LASKUS, operations and education manager, is an active performer, educator, and arts administrator who has served as director of admissions for the University of Oregon School of Music and Dance and is completing a year of training in the League of American Orchestras’ Orchestra Management Fellowship Program. As a violinist she has performed with such organizations as the Phoenix Symphony, Arizona Opera, and Eugene Symphony. A native of Poland who emigrated to the U.S. in 1992, Laskus holds a bachelor’s degree in music and economics from the University of Miami and a master’s in violin performance from Arizona State University.
Posted May 31, 2013
