Martha H. Jones and Governor Deval Patrick at "Mad About Marty" reception

Celebrity Series President and Executive Director Martha H. Jones with Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick at last night's Paramount Theatre reception for Mad About Marty, honoring Jones' 25 years of service with the Celebrity Series of Boston. See the rest of Bill Brett's party photos.

Celebrity Series of Boston Announces New Executive Director

For Immediate Release

Contact:
Jack Wright, (617) 598-3212, jw@celebrityseries.org
Stephanie Janes, (617) 598-3240, sj@celebrityseries.org

 

CELEBRITY SERIES OF BOSTON
ANNOUNCES APPOINTMENT OF
GARY DUNNING
AS NEW PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

(Boston)  Celebrity Series of Boston, New England’s leading performing arts presenter, is pleased to announce the appointment of Gary Dunning as President and Executive Director. Mr. Dunning has been a senior executive in the performing arts for over 30 years, having served as executive director of the Houston Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, and most recently the Big Apple Circus, Ltd. in New York City. Mr. Dunning’s appointment is effective July 1, 2011.

Joshua Boger, Chair of the search committee and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Celebrity Series, expressed his enthusiasm for Mr. Dunning’s selection, “On behalf of the Board of Directors, the search committee and staff I am delighted to welcome Gary as the next President and Executive Director of the Celebrity Series of Boston. He brings a truly impressive experience to the position, having successfully led several nationally prominent arts institutions over his career. He will be a stellar addition to a tradition of great Celebrity Series leadership and is an outstanding choice to lead the Series into its next era.”

“Gary will become only the fourth leader of the Celebrity Series over its 72-year history and the first appointed from outside the organization,” said retiring Series President, Martha H. Jones. “He is an excellent choice and his background in management, marketing, fundraising and education will serve him well as he takes the Celebrity Series to new heights. I was involved in the search process and am quite pleased to endorse Gary’s appointment.”

“It is an honor and privilege to join Celebrity Series and follow in the footsteps of Marty Jones,” said Dunning. “The organization has stood for excellence and diversity in celebrating the best in the performing arts. I look forward to working with my colleagues at Celebrity Series and throughout the Boston arts community to build a stronger organization and vibrant arts scene.”

Gary Dunning began his career as Assistant Company Manager at American Ballet Theatre (ABT) in 1978. He rose to Company Manager and General Manager at ABT before departing in 1986 to become Executive Director of the Houston Ballet. Dunning remained with the Houston Ballet until 1992, when he was recruited to return to ABT as Executive Director, where he launched that organization’s remarkable turnaround. In 1996, Dunning left ABT to assume the Executive Director position at Big Apple Circus, Ltd., a position he has held until this appointment. Mr. Dunning is a graduate of Princeton University and holds a masters degree from the London School of Economics.

During his 14-year tenure at Big Apple Circus, Mr. Dunning doubled the non-profit arts institution’s annual fund drive in the first four years and increased earned revenues by 18% per year for the first five years. He also completed a $6 million capital plan for a new rehearsal and production facility and developed and successfully executed a transition plan from the founding artistic director to new artistic leadership. The Big Apple Circus’ community outreach and education programs, which serve children and families across the nation in pediatric and nursing care facilities, community centers, schools and at Big Apple Circus performances, have undergone a significant expansion under Mr. Dunning’s leadership.

Celebrity Series of Boston will announce its 2011-2012 season, the first under the leadership of Mr. Dunning, in early April.

ABOUT CELEBRITY SERIES OF BOSTON
The Celebrity Series of Boston is New England’s leading presenter of music, dance and the performing arts from around the world. Now in its 72nd season, the Celebrity Series brings performances by instrumental and vocal soloists, orchestras and chamber ensembles, dance companies, jazz, folk and ethnic artists and ensembles to Boston’s major concert halls, reaching an audience of some 100,000 each year. Through the Arts, Education and Community Program, the Celebrity Series reaches thousands of youngsters annually with opportunities to experience and participate in the performing arts through concerts, workshops, and the award-winning AileyCamp Boston, an intensive six-week summer dance program for Boston middle school students. For more information on Celebrity Series of Boston, call (617) 482-2595 or visit us online at www.celebrityseries.org.

The Celebrity Series receives generous support from The Little Family Foundation, Tufts Health Plan, Foley & Lardner LLP, Charlesbank Capital Partners, Comcast, Parametric Technology Corporation, Massachusetts Cultural Council, New England Foundation for the Arts, and D.L. Saunders Companies and The Boston Park Plaza Hotel, LLC.

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Martha H. Jones receives Patrick Hayes Award

Martha H. Jones

Congratulations to Celebrity Series of Boston President and Executive Director, Martha H. Jones, on receiving the 2011 Patrick Hayes Award at the International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA) annual conference in New York. ISPA is a not-for-profit network of performing arts professionals who convene with the goal of strengthening the arts internationally by building leadership ability, recognizing and discussing field-wide trends and deepening global exchange through the arts.  ISPA is wide-ranging network of over 350 individuals, organizations and institutions from more than 40 countries around the world. 

The Patrick Hayes Award recognizes an ISPA member whose achievements in arts management are deserving of special praise and recognition, and is named after ISPA’s founding president, Patrick Hayes. With her 25 years of leadership at the Celebrity Series of Boston, previous role as Chair of ISPA, role as founding member of the Huntington Theatre Company, and numerous achievements in the field of arts administration, Marty has continually proven her indispensability as a leader in the field of arts management.

Marty joins a select group of only 24 arts leaders who have received this prestigious award. 

For more information on the award, visit:
http://www.ispa.org/who/awards/424-2011patrickhayesaward

Keith Powers reviews Mark Morris Dance Group for Boston Herald

Keith Powers reviewed the opening night performance by the Mark Morris Dance Group for Saturday's Boston Herald.Here is a snippet:

"'Petrichor,' for eight female dancers, was the real deal. Set to the impressionistic second Heitor Villa-Lobos string quartet, the four sections filled the stage like a mystical nocturne. The dancers wore alluring diaphanous nighties and the movement, rather than centered onstage, moved in lines from right to left or vice versa, suggesting a story line but never revealing one. In fact, much of 'Petrichor' was like a dream - filled with stark images of clarity that quickly vanished or morphed. One signature gesture recurred: a kind of surfing pose, with arms extended horizontally, the body poised for action, but merely rocking in place."

Read Mark Morris Group's 'Petrichor' is dream come true.

Boston Globe review: "Darkness and Light with Mark Morris"

 
Amber Star Merkens (foreground) dances in last
night's world premiere of Petrichor

Thea Singer's review of last night's opening night performance by the Mark Morris Dance Group is in late editions of the print edition, but it is online. Here is an excerpt:

"'Petrichor,' a world premiere for eight women, is danced to Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos’s 'String Quartet No. 2,' for violin, viola, and cello. The title describes the scent arising after a rain, especially on dry ground. It’s apropos, because the dancers seem to dance not on but between the notes, as if dodging raindrops."

Read all of Thea Singer's review.

The Mark Morris Dance Group performs through this Sunday at the Cutler Majestic Theatre.

Mark Morris talks with Globe about world premiere

Laura Collins-Hughes spoke with choreographer Mark Morris for Boston Sunday Globe about his new Celebrity Series of Boston commission, Petrichor:

"I love making up titles. You know, it's interesting because it makes people tempted to think that something has a relevance that it either does or doesn't have. There's a dance we do called 'A Lake,' and I just called it 'A Lake' because it occurred to me that I should call a dance 'A Lake.' There’s no lake in the dance. But, you know, 'petrichor,' it's a fabulous word that I'd never heard before. The dance is, first of all, it's for all women. There's eight women in the dance, and it's this amazing piece of music that’s very under-known and a very tricky, beautiful piece of music. And, you know, Villa-Lobos was very devoted to his Brazilian heritage. He says that all of his music is Brazilian; it all contains the rain forest. I’m not Brazilian, the dance isn’t a rain forest, and the title seemed to work."

Read the complete article.

Mark Morris Dance Group dances October 14-17 at the Cutler Majestic Theatre. On October 14, Petrichor will receive its world premiere performance at the Cutler Majestic Theatre.

World premiere of Mark Morris' Petrichor

Choreographer Mark Morris

It's always fun to anticipate a Mark Morris work you've never seen before. "What does he have up his sleeve this time? Will I have to stop myself from laughing out loud? Will his nack for filling his work with bona fide communitas make me all teary (again)?"

This time around it's your friendly neighborhood Celebrity Series that has arranged for this delicious sense of anticpation. Mark Morris’ newest work, Petrichor, is a work for 8 female dancers and is commissioned by the Celebrity Series of Boston (ahem) in honor of President and Executive Director Martha H. Jones’ 25th anniversary with the Celebrity Series.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines petrichor as "A pleasant, distinctive smell frequently accompanying the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather in certain regions." As a gardener, the title intrigues me. As a Mark Morris fan, this is like waiting for the first day of summer while sitting in math class. It just can't come soon enough.

Petrichor gets its world premiere on October 14 at the Cutler Majestic Theatre when the Mark Morris Dance Group returns to Boston. We couldn't have done it without the generous funding of The Little Family Foundation.