LEE KOONCE has been named as the inaugural president and artistic director of Gateways Music Festival in Rochester, N.Y. Since 1995 the biennial festival has partnered with Rochester’s Eastman School of Music, and Koonce’s appointment to this newly created full-time position is part of “a new alliance that strengthens the organizations’ efforts to promote diversity in the classical music field,” according to a joint statement from Eastman and Gateways. Koonce, a member of the festival’s board since 1998, has served as executive director of Ballet Hispanico and Third Street Music School Settlement in New York City; as executive director of Chicago’s Sherwood Conservatory of Music; and as director of community relations for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He holds a bachelor’s degree in piano performance from Oberlin Conservatory of Music, a bachelor’s in Spanish literature from Oberlin College, and a master’s in piano performance and literature from the Eastman School of Music.
Posted May 15, 2016
