Mervon Mehta Named First Director of Programming and Education for Regional Performing Arts Center
January 25, 2002
Mehta will oversee all aspects of programming and education at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts and the Academy of Music. His selection caps a national search.
"It is with great pleasure that we announce the appointment of Mervon Mehta," said RPAC Co-Chair Leslie Anne Miller. "This is a critical time for our young performing arts center. Mehta's experience, talent, vitality and vision will help shape the identity of The Kimmel Center and redefine the role of the Academy of Music. We're thrilled to have been able to lure another accomplished, widely-respected, top performing arts professional to Philadelphia."
Mehta's selection comes three weeks after the announcement that Janice Price, the interim executive director of New York's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, has been named RPAC's new President and Chief Executive Officer. Both Price and Mehta will assume their new positions in February.
"Mervon Mehta is a fabulous choice," said Price. "He has experience in a wide range of programming from classical to jazz, Latin, pop, world music and dance. He has proven accomplishments in nurturing rising artists and instituting programs to attract new audiences. His track record is outstanding."
Mehta has been with Ravinia, one of the nation's oldest and most musically diverse festivals, since 1994, most recently as Director of Programming and Production. The Ravinia Festival boasts a 14-week summer season with more than 140 events including an eight-week residency by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra led by Music Director Christoph Eschenbach, the Music Director Designate of The Philadelphia Orchestra. During Mehta's tenure, both attendance and revenue at the Festival increased, more than 70 artists made their Ravinia debuts, and new community programs were created to give performance opportunities to local artists. Mehta has overseen the development of televised concerts from the festival, and was instrumental in expanding Ravinia's Rising Stars series for young classical musicians to include the best emerging jazz artists.
From 1996-2000, Mehta also served as Booking Consultant to Chicago's Symphony Center. He brought pop, world music, and special events to the Center, establishing a non-classical music presence in a traditionally classical music venue. Mehta is also a professional actor with more than 100 stage, film and television productions to his credit.
"The potential in Philadelphia is enormous and there are all sorts of possibilities," said Mehta. "To have the chance to create an identity for The Kimmel Center, to have not just one venue but three unique spaces (Verizon Hall, Perelman Theater and the Academy of Music) welcoming such diverse programming, and to be in a city so excited about its gorgeous new performing arts center ... this is the opportunity of a lifetime."
Mehta was born in Vienna, Austria, grew up in Montreal, graduated from Colgate University, and comes from a family with a long history of performing arts excellence. He is the son of Israel Philharmonic Orchestra conductor-for-life Zubin Mehta and the nephew of Zarin Mehta, executive director of the New York Philharmonic. His grandfather, Mehli Mehta, was a violin teacher and member of the string quartet at Philadelphia's Curtis Institute of Music.
The Regional Performing Arts Center
The Regional Performing Arts Center (RPAC) is a non-profit entity founded in Philadelphia in 1996 to build and operate first-class performing arts facilities for local arts groups and to present special events and concerts featuring visiting performers from around the world.
On December 16, 2001, RPAC opened The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts at Broad and Spruce Streets on Philadelphia's Avenue of the Arts. The glass-topped Kimmel Center includes the 2,500-seat Verizon Hall, home of The Philadelphia Orchestra and Peter Nero and the Philly Pops, and the 650-seat Perelman Theater, home of The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, PHILADANCO, The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and American Theater Arts for Youth.
RPAC also operates the historic Academy of Music, home of the Opera Company of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania Ballet. The Kimmel Center and the Academy of Music combined create one of the largest performing arts complexes in the world.
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