Kimmel Center President and CEO Resigns Post
July 11, 2006
Janice Price
Kimmel Center, Inc. Chairman William P. Hankowsky announced today that Janice C. Price will resign her current position as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in early September 2006. The board will immediately form a search committee to name a successor.
Ms. Price is leaving to accept a new position as Chief Executive Officer of the Toronto Festival of Arts, Culture and Creativity. She was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of the Kimmel Center in January 2002.
"Since her arrival in early 2002, immediately after the Kimmel Center’s opening, Janice Price has done an outstanding job in every respect. She has built a premier team of outstanding arts management professionals at the Kimmel Center. In addition to operating a new world-class facility for our resident companies, Janice and her team have also brought new and diverse artistic programming to our region," said Mr. Hankowsky. "The Center has never been in a more positive artistic and financial position having recently announced a budget surplus for 2006 as well as a projected surplus operating budget adopted for the 2007 Season. The Board looks forward to a successful search for a new president and chief executive officer. We are very grateful for Janice’s outstanding service and wish her well as she returns to her native Toronto."
"I am extremely grateful to the board of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts for having given me the opportunity to launch the artistic, production and support operations of this extraordinary facility," said Ms. Price. "As home to eight beloved resident organizations, and by launching our own distinctive artistic and education programs, we have fulfilled the dream first espoused by our founders to create a regional performing arts center of international stature."
About Kimmel Center Inc.
Kimmel Center, Inc. is a non-profit organization that owns, manages, supports and maintains the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts as well as the Academy of Music which is owned by the Philadelphia Orchestra Association. The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts and the Academy of Music serve as the home to eight Resident Company performing arts organizations including The Philadelphia Orchestra, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Ballet, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, American Theatre Arts for Youth, PHILADANCO, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and Peter Nero and the Philly Pops. Kimmel Center, Inc.’s mission also includes arts in education, community outreach and a rich diversity in programming through its Kimmel Center Presents and Cadillac Broadway at the Academy series of performances.
Highlights of the most recent year include:
- The Kimmel Center inaugurated The Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ, the nation’s largest concert hall organ in May 2006. Performances were enthusiastically received by audiences as well as national and local music critics.
- Kimmel Center, Inc, will end its fiscal year with an operating surplus of $1.2 million * after interest but before depreciation and amortization. This represents a significant improvement over both its current year budget and the prior year operating results. In addition, at its meeting on June 22, the board of directors unanimously adopted an operating budget for fiscal year 2007 which shows an operating surplus of $412 thousand.
- As part of the Kimmel Center Presents concert series, many of the world’s great artists and ensembles touring the world today make the Kimmel Center a stop on their national and international tours. This season 64 artists made their debuts on Kimmel Center stages. In addition Kimmel Center Presents offered 13 Philadelphia premieres and commissioned 7 world premieres.
- In all, more than 750 performances and events took place at the Kimmel Center and the Academy of Music in the 2006 season, of which 76 were Kimmel Center Presents events, 74 were Broadway at the Academy, 100 were Defending the Caveman and more than 500 were resident company performances or community rentals. App. 913,000 people attended events at the two facilities, of which app. 95,590 attended Kimmel Center Presents and app. 174,500 attended Broadway at the Academy, making it among the four most widely attended cultural institutions in the region.
- Kimmel Center’s Broadway at the Academy series has enjoyed record attendance this past season by bringing nationally renowned touring shows to Philadelphia, including the sold out spring engagement of Wicked and the full summer run of Disney’s The Lion King.
- The Kimmel Center added to the depth and breadth of its professional staff by appointing two new employees to key positions: Natalye Paquin as Chief Operating Officer and Christopher Woehrle, Esq., as Vice President of Development. Ms. Paquin is the former Chief Operating Officer of the School District of Philadelphia where she oversaw a $400 million organization with over 4,700 employees. Mr. Woehrle was most recently the Acting Senior Vice President of The Office of Institutional Advancement at Drexel University, a five time achiever of Philanthropy 400 status as one of America’s top fundraising organizations during his twelve year career.
- In April, 2006 The Kimmel Center completed the installation of its public art throughout the facility as part of the Percent for Arts program with works by five prominent Philadelphia artists, including Moe A. Brooker, Fritz Dietel, Sidney Goodman, Stuart Netsky, and Elizabeth Osborne.
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