The League of American Orchestras has announced the appointment of CELESTE WROBLEWSKI as vice president, strategic communications; KAREN YAIR as vice president, Knowledge Center; MI RYUNG SONG as director of strategic initiatives, a newly created senior position; and JENNIFER KESSLER as director of programs.
Celeste Wroblewski, who joins the staff June 1 as vice president, strategic communications, will be responsible for promoting the League brand and conveying field and League messages to stakeholders, including the media, members, donors, and the arts community. Wroblewski will supervise the Communications Department, overseeing the League’s media relations, digital communications platforms, and Symphony magazine. She was most recently vice president of public relations for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and has additional experience at Donors Forum, a membership association of Illinois funders, nonprofits, and philanthropic advisors; at YMCA of the USA; and at Burson-Marsteller. Her volunteer roles have included service on the National Communications Committee of Independent Sector. Wroblewski holds a bachelor’s degree in comparative literature from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
As vice president, Knowledge Center, Karen Yair oversees research initiatives, identifying current and future field needs, building and sustaining alliances with members and the research community, and managing the Knowledge Center staff. Yair worked most recently in the U.K as research and information manager and research consultant for the Crafts Council; she has consulted for such organizations as the U.K.’s National Foundation for Youth Music and Music for Youth and for the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus. In 2001 she earned her PhD in arts management in a joint program with Sheffield Hallam University and Sheffield University Management School. Yair plays several instruments and has a long-held love of classical music.
Mi Ryung Song’s responsibilities as the League’s director of strategic initiatives include managing the League’s strategic plan, artistic activities, and select Knowledge Center projects, as well as facilitating new organizational opportunities and strategic partnerships. A 2006 graduate of the League’s Orchestra Management Fellowship Program, she has held positions in fundraising at Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony, and in artistic administration at New York City Opera. Song served most recently as interim director of the League’s Knowledge Center. She holds a bachelor’s degree in flute performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Jennifer Kessler, the League’s new director of programs, is responsible for creating learning opportunities for orchestra staff, board members, musicians, conductors, and volunteers; managing the organization’s grant-making activity; and helping to program and produce the League’s National Conference. Kessler was most recently director of community and education at Orchestra of St. Luke’s in New York City. She has taught in Venezuela as a New England Conservatory Sistema Fellow and managed professional programs at the Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall. A graduate in music performance from Northwestern University and the Hanns Eisler Musikhochschule in Berlin, Kessler has performed internationally as a French horn player.
Posted May 6, 2015
