Organizational Change

Jesse Rosen has been recognized as one of the outstanding thinkers in contemporary performing arts leadership. As president and CEO of the League of American Orchestras since July 2008, he has raised the level of debate about the current and future role of orchestras among fellow arts leaders, policy makers, and opinion leaders in Washington, D.C. and across the United States, and among the League’s more than 900 member orchestras. Mr. Rosen has introduced international thought leaders such as Jim Collins and Jose Antonio Abreu to the orchestra world. He has convened and frequently participates in cross-disciplinary conversations that furnish important new perspectives for the field and the classical music art form.

Under Mr. Rosen’s guidance, the League has taken a leadership role in helping orchestras adapt to a rapidly changing environment. In the fall of 2008 the organization responded quickly to member needs for hands-on support during the financial downturn by mobilizing programs across multiple platforms, from mentoring opportunities to seminars and webinars on “Managing During a Financial Downturn.” New initiatives in Advocacy and Communications; Learning and Leadership Development; and Research/ Development and Innovation have expanded the League’s support of orchestras as they work to deepen civic engagement, explore new artistic and operating models, and foster collaboration. The League has raised nearly $22 million toward its $25-million Campaign for a New Direction, which was launched after a field-wide strategic planning process of which Mr. Rosen was chief architect.

A lifelong musician and experienced orchestra CEO, Mr. Rosen has stimulated innovation throughout his more than 10-year tenure at the League. In his previous position as executive vice president and managing director, he was instrumental in creating new programs such as Music Alive, the American Conducting Fellows, and Ford Made in America. Prior to joining the League’s administrative staff in 1998, he served as general manager of the Seattle Symphony, executive vice president and managing director of the American Composers Orchestra in New York City, orchestra manager of the New York Philharmonic, and vice president of programs for Affiliate Artists, Inc., where he developed and launched the Seaver Conducting Award and managed the Exxon/Arts Endowment Conductors Program. A trombonist, Mr. Rosen received his bachelor’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music and pursued graduate studies at The Juilliard School.

Jesse Rosen serves on the boards of the American Composers Orchestra and the Performing Arts Alliance and the Board of Overseers of the Curtis Institute of Music.

Ann Drinan, Senior Editor, has been a member of the Hartford Symphony viola section for over 30 years. She is a former Chair of the Orchestra Committee, former member of the HSO Board, and has served on many HSO committees. She is also the Executive Director of CONCORA (CT Choral Artists), a professional chorus based in Hartford and New Britain, founded by Artistic Director Richard Coffey. Ann was a member of the Advisory Board of the Symphony Orchestra Institute (SOI), and was the HSO ROPA delegate for 14 years, serving as both Vice President and President of ROPA. In addition to playing the viola and running CONCORA, Ann is a professional writer and editor, and has worked as a consultant and technical writer for software companies in a wide variety of industries for over 3 decades. (She worked for the Yale Computer Science Department in the late 70s, and thus has been on the Internet, then called the DARPAnet, since 1977!) She is married to Algis Kaupas, a sound recordist, and lives a block from Long Island Sound in Branford CT. Together they create websites for musicians: shortbeachwebdesign.com.

Ann holds a BA in Music from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and an MA in International Relations from Yale University.

Read Ann Drinan's blog here. web.esm.rochester.edu/poly/author/ann-drinan

Laura Roelofs is Assistant Professor of Violin and Viola at Wayne State University in Detroit, and serves as Assistant Concertmaster of the Michigan Opera Theatre. She has recently taken on a new role as director of String Project@Wayne, a community music initiative in which undergraduate teaching interns give small-group lessons to Detroit-area children who do not have access to school music instruction.

Ms. Roelofs performed for fourteen seasons as Assistant Concertmaster of the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, and as a member of the Oberon String Quartet, artists-in-residence at St. Catherine's and St. Christopher's Schools in Richmond. She has served on the faculty of Virginia Commonwealth University and as Artist-Teacher of Violin at Georgia State University in Atlanta, where she was also a member of the Atlanta Chamber Players. She was a founding member of the Eakins String Quartet, winner of the 1987 Baltimore Chamber Music Awards Competition, and performed for several years with Currents, a Richmond-based contemporary music ensemble. Ms. Roelofs has appeared as soloist with a number of orchestras including the Baltimore Symphony and the Richmond Symphony. She holds performance degrees from Boston University's School of Fine Arts and the Catholic University of America.

Laura Roelofs is Assistant Professor of Violin and Viola at Wayne State University in Detroit, and serves as Assistant Concertmaster of the Michigan Opera Theatre. She has recently taken on a new role as director of String Project@Wayne, a community music initiative in which undergraduate teaching interns give small-group lessons to Detroit-area children who do not have access to school music instruction.

Ms. Roelofs performed for fourteen seasons as Assistant Concertmaster of the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, and as a member of the Oberon String Quartet, artists-in-residence at St. Catherine's and St. Christopher's Schools in Richmond. She has served on the faculty of Virginia Commonwealth University and as Artist-Teacher of Violin at Georgia State University in Atlanta, where she was also a member of the Atlanta Chamber Players. She was a founding member of the Eakins String Quartet, winner of the 1987 Baltimore Chamber Music Awards Competition, and performed for several years with Currents, a Richmond-based contemporary music ensemble. Ms. Roelofs has appeared as soloist with a number of orchestras including the Baltimore Symphony and the Richmond Symphony. She holds performance degrees from Boston University's School of Fine Arts and the Catholic University of America.

Laura Roelofs is Assistant Professor of Violin and Viola at Wayne State University in Detroit, and serves as Assistant Concertmaster of the Michigan Opera Theatre. She has recently taken on a new role as director of String Project@Wayne, a community music initiative in which undergraduate teaching interns give small-group lessons to Detroit-area children who do not have access to school music instruction.

Ms. Roelofs performed for fourteen seasons as Assistant Concertmaster of the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, and as a member of the Oberon String Quartet, artists-in-residence at St. Catherine's and St. Christopher's Schools in Richmond. She has served on the faculty of Virginia Commonwealth University and as Artist-Teacher of Violin at Georgia State University in Atlanta, where she was also a member of the Atlanta Chamber Players. She was a founding member of the Eakins String Quartet, winner of the 1987 Baltimore Chamber Music Awards Competition, and performed for several years with Currents, a Richmond-based contemporary music ensemble. Ms. Roelofs has appeared as soloist with a number of orchestras including the Baltimore Symphony and the Richmond Symphony. She holds performance degrees from Boston University's School of Fine Arts and the Catholic University of America.

Laura Roelofs is Assistant Professor of Violin and Viola at Wayne State University in Detroit, and serves as Assistant Concertmaster of the Michigan Opera Theatre. She has recently taken on a new role as director of String Project@Wayne, a community music initiative in which undergraduate teaching interns give small-group lessons to Detroit-area children who do not have access to school music instruction.

Ms. Roelofs performed for fourteen seasons as Assistant Concertmaster of the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, and as a member of the Oberon String Quartet, artists-in-residence at St. Catherine's and St. Christopher's Schools in Richmond. She has served on the faculty of Virginia Commonwealth University and as Artist-Teacher of Violin at Georgia State University in Atlanta, where she was also a member of the Atlanta Chamber Players. She was a founding member of the Eakins String Quartet, winner of the 1987 Baltimore Chamber Music Awards Competition, and performed for several years with Currents, a Richmond-based contemporary music ensemble. Ms. Roelofs has appeared as soloist with a number of orchestras including the Baltimore Symphony and the Richmond Symphony. She holds performance degrees from Boston University's School of Fine Arts and the Catholic University of America.

Laura Roelofs is Assistant Professor of Violin and Viola at Wayne State University in Detroit, and serves as Assistant Concertmaster of the Michigan Opera Theatre. She has recently taken on a new role as director of String Project@Wayne, a community music initiative in which undergraduate teaching interns give small-group lessons to Detroit-area children who do not have access to school music instruction.

Ms. Roelofs performed for fourteen seasons as Assistant Concertmaster of the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, and as a member of the Oberon String Quartet, artists-in-residence at St. Catherine's and St. Christopher's Schools in Richmond. She has served on the faculty of Virginia Commonwealth University and as Artist-Teacher of Violin at Georgia State University in Atlanta, where she was also a member of the Atlanta Chamber Players. She was a founding member of the Eakins String Quartet, winner of the 1987 Baltimore Chamber Music Awards Competition, and performed for several years with Currents, a Richmond-based contemporary music ensemble. Ms. Roelofs has appeared as soloist with a number of orchestras including the Baltimore Symphony and the Richmond Symphony. She holds performance degrees from Boston University's School of Fine Arts and the Catholic University of America.

Laura Roelofs is Assistant Professor of Violin and Viola at Wayne State University in Detroit, and serves as Assistant Concertmaster of the Michigan Opera Theatre. She has recently taken on a new role as director of String Project@Wayne, a community music initiative in which undergraduate teaching interns give small-group lessons to Detroit-area children who do not have access to school music instruction.

Ms. Roelofs performed for fourteen seasons as Assistant Concertmaster of the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, and as a member of the Oberon String Quartet, artists-in-residence at St. Catherine's and St. Christopher's Schools in Richmond. She has served on the faculty of Virginia Commonwealth University and as Artist-Teacher of Violin at Georgia State University in Atlanta, where she was also a member of the Atlanta Chamber Players. She was a founding member of the Eakins String Quartet, winner of the 1987 Baltimore Chamber Music Awards Competition, and performed for several years with Currents, a Richmond-based contemporary music ensemble. Ms. Roelofs has appeared as soloist with a number of orchestras including the Baltimore Symphony and the Richmond Symphony. She holds performance degrees from Boston University's School of Fine Arts and the Catholic University of America.

Laura Roelofs is Assistant Professor of Violin and Viola at Wayne State University in Detroit, and serves as Assistant Concertmaster of the Michigan Opera Theatre. She has recently taken on a new role as director of String Project@Wayne, a community music initiative in which undergraduate teaching interns give small-group lessons to Detroit-area children who do not have access to school music instruction.

Ms. Roelofs performed for fourteen seasons as Assistant Concertmaster of the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, and as a member of the Oberon String Quartet, artists-in-residence at St. Catherine's and St. Christopher's Schools in Richmond. She has served on the faculty of Virginia Commonwealth University and as Artist-Teacher of Violin at Georgia State University in Atlanta, where she was also a member of the Atlanta Chamber Players. She was a founding member of the Eakins String Quartet, winner of the 1987 Baltimore Chamber Music Awards Competition, and performed for several years with Currents, a Richmond-based contemporary music ensemble. Ms. Roelofs has appeared as soloist with a number of orchestras including the Baltimore Symphony and the Richmond Symphony. She holds performance degrees from Boston University's School of Fine Arts and the Catholic University of America.