Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center
URBAN BUSH WOMEN
SCAT!... The Complex Lives of Al & Dot, Dot & Al Zollar
The Music Center’s Mark Taper Forum
November 22–24, 2024
Photo by Ben McKeown.
RACHEL S. MOORE
Moving from bold to fearless with Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center, The Music Center aims to bring the very best of dance to Los Angeles. It is my honor to welcome you to the 22nd season of the West Coast’s longestrunning series of dance residencies.
As the season begins, we witness history in the making with the debut of Urban Bush Women at The Music Center. Not only is this remarkable company gracing us for the first time, but it does so as our inaugural dance presentation in The Music Center’s iconic Mark Taper Forum. Of course, Urban Bush Women is not new to history-making moments; the trailblazing company, celebrating 40 years, is a Black-women-led organization that has consistently championed its core values in every performance.
Their presentation of SCAT!... The Complex Lives of Al & Dot, Dot & Al Zollar, conceived, directed and co-choreographed by the company’s founder Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, invites us on a transformative journey. This work shines a light on a little-known chapter of history—the turbulent aftermath of the Great Migration in the 1940s and 1950s, where six million Black Americans sought new beginnings across northern, midwestern and western states. Zollar’s deeply personal story about her parents’ experiences speaks not only to the struggles and triumphs of that time, but also resonates with anyone who has ever chased dreams relentlessly. It is a powerful testament to the indomitable spirit that fuels this performance, a spirit that is both boundless and fearless.
This season promises to captivate with groundbreaking creativity, breathtaking artistry and performances that reflect our shared humanity. After Urban Bush Women, we are thrilled to welcome Batsheva Dance Company to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (February 14–16, 2025), followed by the always inspiring Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (April 2–6, 2025). Later in the season, Brazilian powerhouse Grupo Corpo will electrify the Ahmanson Theatre (May 2–4, 2025), before we close the season with Boston Ballet’s enchanting Swan Lake in the Pavilion (June 26–29, 2025). These are performances you won’t want to miss!
We extend our deepest gratitude to Glorya Kaufman, whose generosity and vision continue to elevate the arts in Los Angeles. We are also incredibly thankful to Center Dance Arts, the founding supporter of this dance series, for its unwavering dedication to dance and dancing at The Music Center and to dance in Los Angeles.
Enjoy the performance!
Warmly,
Rachel S. Moore President & CEO, The Music Center
THE MUSIC CENTER 2024/2025 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OFFICERS
Cindy Miscikowski Chair
Robert J. Abernethy Vice Chair
Rachel S. Moore President & CEO
Diane G. Medina Secretary
Susan M. Wegleitner Treasurer
William Taylor Assistant Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer
MEMBERS AT LARGE
Charlene Achki-Repko
Charles F. Adams
William H. Ahmanson
Jill C. Baldauf
Susan Baumgarten
Phoebe Beasley
Kristin Burr
Dannielle Campos
Alberto M. Carvalho
Elizabeth Khuri Chandler
Riley Etheridge, Jr.
Amy R. Forbes
Greg T. Geyer
Joan E. Herman
Jeffrey M. Hill
Jonathan B. Hodge
Mary Ann Hunt-Jacobsen
Carl Jordan
Richard B. Kendall
Terri M. Kohl
Lily Lee
Cary J. Lefton
Keith R. Leonard, Jr.
Kelsey N. Martin
Susan M. Matt
Elizabeth Michelson
Darrell D. Miller
Teresita Notkin
Michael J. Pagano
Karen Kay Platt
Susan Erburu Reardon
Joseph J. Rice
Melissa Romain
Beverly P. Ryder
Maria S. Salinas
Corinne Jessie
Sanchez
Mimi Song
Johnese Spisso
Michael Stockton
Timothy S. Wahl
Jennifer M. Walske
Jay S. Wintrob
GENERAL COUNSEL
Rollin A. Ransom
DIRECTORS EMERITI
Wallis Annenberg
Peter K. Barker
Judith Beckmen
Darrell R. Brown
Ronald W. Burkle
John B. Emerson **
Richard M. Ferry
Bernard A. Greenberg
Stephen F. Hinchliffe, Jr.
Kent Kresa
Mattie McFaddenLawson
Fredric M. Roberts
Richard K. Roeder
Claire L. Rothman
Joni J. Smith
Lisa Specht **
Cynthia A. Telles
James A. Thomas
Andrea L. Van de Kamp **
Thomas R. Weinberger
Alyce de Roulet
Williamson
** Chair Emeritus
Current as of 11/5/2024
Photo by Mario de Lopez.
TMC ARTS
Arts and Cultural Experiences for All
The Music Center is a cultural anchor in Los Angeles and home to some of the world’s greatest and most highly regarded artistic programs and events. Rooted in a strong commitment to equity, excellence and access, TMC Arts, The Music Center’s programming and producing engine, provides year-round events and activities inside The Music Center’s theatres, on Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center, outside at Gloria Molina Grand Park — a 12-acre adjacent green space — and in schools and neighborhoods all over Los Angeles County. From Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center to free and low-cost concerts and events, to learning experiences for all ages and more, TMC Arts’ programs reflect the diverse voices and interests of the many communities in Los Angeles County, bringing Angelenos together in ways that enable them to discover their shared humanity. TMC Arts’ programs connect people, offering participatory and immersive experiences with the chance to get creative and learn.
The Music Center is truly a performing arts center for the 21st century, continually pushing the boundaries to engage communities and further inspire and contribute to the artistic voices of Los Angeles.
Photo by John McCoy for The Music Center.
URBAN BUSH WOMEN
SCAT!... The Complex Lives of Al & Dot, Dot & Al Zollar
Urban Bush Women’s SCAT! Featuring Symara Sarai, Keola Jones, Mikaila Ware. Photo by Maria Baranova for the Fisher Center at Bard.
ABOUT URBAN BUSH WOMEN
Celebrating its 40th anniversary, Urban Bush Women (UBW) is a groundbreaking Black women-led theatrical dance company and social activism ensemble founded in 1984 by visionary choreographer Jawole Willa Jo Zollar. Through its mission of engaging with artists, activists, audiences and communities with performances, artist development, education and community engagement, the award-winning nonprofit has performed throughout the United States, as well as in Asia, Australia, Canada, South America, Europe and Senegal (in collaboration with Germaine Acogny and her all-male Compagnie JANT-BI). UBW has been an engine and amplifier for the stories of Black Women+ for 40 years. UBW affects the overall ecology of the arts by promoting artistic
legacies, projecting the voices of the underheard and people of color, bringing attention to and addressing issues of equity in the dance field and throughout the United States, and providing platforms and serving as a conduit for experimental art makers. Signature programs run by UBW include the Summer Leadership Institute (SLI), BOLD (Builders, Organizers & Leaders through Dance) the Choreographic Center Initiative (CCI) and the CCI Producing Program (CCI 2.0). Now directed by artistic leaders Chanon Judson and Mame Diarra Speis, UBW combines radical performance, deep engagement and ancestral knowledge from the African diaspora into a force that is urgent, forward-looking and essential. urbanbushwomen.org
Courtney J. Cook, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Tendayi Kuumba and Stephanie Battle. Photo by Maria Baranova for the Fisher Center at Bard.
SCAT! is a poetic performance orature in the style of African American Toasts and informed by Chinua Achebe who combined the concept of the orality of African storytelling with literature. Toasts are the couplet form of rhyming that boast and toast the epic hero or heroine.
SCAT! is a post vaudeville revue of jazz improvisation to make memory felt in the present while calling upon the past and imagining a future.
SCAT! is my ritual remembrance of my family’s migration through time and space from the Great Migration to the complex lives of Al & Dot Zollar in Kansas City. Part truth, part memory, part rumor, part myth… the journey begins again and again.
— Jawole Willa Jo Zollar
PROGRAM (90 minutes / No intermission)
SCAT!... The Complex Lives of Al & Dot, Dot & Al Zollar
Conceived, Directed & Co-Choreographed by Jawole Willa Jo Zollar
Co-Choreographed by Vincent Thomas
Original Music Composed by Craig Harris
Dramaturgy by Talvin Wilks
Cheri L. Stokes, Assistant Director & Associate Producer
DESIGNERS
Brittany Bland, Projections Designer
Chanon Judson, Costume Visionary
Russell Sandifer, Lighting Designer
Bill Toles, Sound Designer/Supervisor
COMMUNITY OF MEMORY (ENSEMBLE)
CAST
Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Co-Choreographer/Writer/Director
STORY WOMEN
Courtney J. Cook, Associate Artistic Director
Tendayi Kuumba, Performer & Dance Captain
Stephanie Battle, Performer
DANCERS
Kentoria Earle, Company Member
Roobi Gaskins, Company Member
Keola Jones, Company Member
Symara Sarai, Company Member
Mikaila Ware, Company Member
MUSICIANS
Jordyn Davis, Music Director, Bass
Gary Jones, Drums
Tyreek McDole, Vocals
T.W. Sample, Keyboard
Milton Suggs, Vocals
Brianna Thomas, Vocals
Charenee Wade, Vocals
PRODUCTION
Lori Gassie, Associate Costume Designer
Stephen Lloyd Helper, Writing Collaborator
Jason Kaiser, Production Stage Manager
Taj Rauch, Associate Projection Designer
Bennalldra Williams, Movement Coach
MiKayla Young, Associate Company Manager/Assistant to the Creative Team
ADMINISTRATION
Jonathan D. Secor, Executive Producer
Michelle Coe, Director of Production, Booking & Touring
Darrell Bridges, Music Management: Arts & Education Continuum, Inc.
Lead commissioning support for the development and creation of SCAT!... The Complex Lives of Al & Dot, Dot & Al Zollar was provided by the Fisher Center at Bard through the Fisher Center’s Artistic Innovation Fund, with lead support from Rebecca Gold and additional funding from The William and Lia G. Poorvu Family Foundation.
Lead commissioning support was also provided by Brown Arts Institute at Brown University.
Additional commissioning support is generously provided by: The Perelman Performing Arts Center, The O’Donnell-Green Music and Dance Foundation and American Dance Festival with support from the Doris Duke/SHS Foundations Award for New Works.
SCAT!... The Complex Lives of Al & Dot, Dot & Al Zollar is made possible in part by The Acton Family Fund, MAP Fund (supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Mellon Foundation), National Endowment for the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
Special Thanks
“Thank you to Florida State University School of Dance, Bob Holman, Paloma McGregor, William Nadylam, Al & Pat Zollar and all of my family for their generous love and support.”
— Jawole Willa Jo Zollar
Thank you Du’Bois A’Keen, Amanda Castro, Stephanie Mas, Chanon Judson & Mame Diarra Speis for their work in the development of SCAT!
Thank you to Tammy Bormann and Tahnia Belle for their long service and leadership to UBW.
DANCE NOTES: URBAN BUSH WOMEN
by Martin Wechsler, TMC Arts Senior Advisor, Dance Presentations
In 2019, I saw a full run-through of a new piece being developed by Urban Bush Women. The innovative work, which eventually became what you are seeing tonight, is inspired by the lives and experiences of Jawole Willa Jo Zollar’s parents during the Great Migration, when millions of Black Americans living in the South moved to the northern, midwestern and western regions of the country. The extraordinary work-in-progress I saw five years ago came to mind while planning the 2024–2025 season of Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center since we had the idea of presenting an evening of dance in The Music Center’s Mark Taper Forum. The intimacy of this theatre is perfect for SCAT!... The Complex Lives of Al & Dot, Dot & Al Zollar with its jazz club storytelling, powerful dance and compelling music.
While SCAT! ’s story is semi-fictionalized and not set in any city per se, Zollar shared that during the creation of this piece, she discovered that five of her grandfather’s siblings had migrated to Los Angeles around 1922. She was thrilled to learn about relatives she had not known existed, and the company’s residency in Los Angeles made that connection all the more meaningful to her. Last week, dancers from Urban Bush Women led a workshop for Leimert Park residents, many of whom found the stories in SCAT! deeply resonant and also reflective of their own family histories.
We are delighted and honored to share the work of Urban Bush Women and to introduce you to the first-ever dance presentation in the Taper!
Photo by Ben McKeown.
URBAN BUSH WOMEN WHO’S WHO
JAWOLE WILLA JO ZOLLAR
(Founder) Growing up in Kansas City, Missouri, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar
earned her B.A. in dance from the University of Missouri at Kansas City and her MFA in dance from Florida State University. In 1980, Zollar moved to New York City to study with Dianne McIntyre at Sounds in Motion. In 1984, Zollar founded Urban Bush Women (UBW) as a performance ensemble dedicated to exploring the use of cultural expression as a catalyst for social change.
In addition to creating over 34 works for UBW, Zollar has created works for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Philadanco and many universities across the United States. Her collaborations include Compagnie Jant-Bi from Senegal and Nora Chipaumire. She has recently worked as choreographer for Taylor Mac’s 24-Decade History of American Popular Music and Daniel Fish’s Most Happy in Concert. In 2023, Zollar was commissioned by Houston Grand Opera to direct and choreograph a new Jake Heggie opera Intelligence. Urban Bush Women has toured five continents and was selected as one of three U.S. dance companies to inaugurate a cultural diplomacy program for the U.S. Department of State in 2010. Zollar serves as director of the UBW Summer Leadership Institute, founding and visioning partner of UBW and as the Nancy Smith Fichter Professor of Dance and Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor at Florida State University. Zollar has been a United States Artists Wynn fellow and a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial fellow. She holds honorary degrees from Columbia College Chicago, Tufts University, Rutgers University and Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Zollar has received the Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, the Dance Magazine Award, the Dance/USA Honor Award, the Bessie Lifetime Achievement in Dance Award for her work in the field, the Dance Teacher Award of Distinction and the Martha Hill Dance Fund Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2020, The Ford Foundation declared UBW one of America’s cultural treasures. Zollar has recently been awarded a 2021 John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation fellowship, the 2022 APAP Honors Award of Merit for Achievement in the Performing Arts and the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize. Recently, Zollar has been named the recipient of the American Dance Festival 2024 Samuel H. Scripps/American Dance Festival Award for lifetime achievement.
CHANON JUDSON
(Co-Artistic Director) Chanon Judson has been growing with the acclaimed Urban Bush Women since 2001, as performer and now coartistic director. She’s a director’s fellow with New Perspective Theatre Women’s Work Lab, Chicago Director’s Lab and APAP’s Leadership Fellowship Program. Judson is an avid arts educator and has served as faculty with AileyCamp (site director), Alvin Ailey Arts in Education, Brooklyn Academy of Music and Earl Mosley’s Institute of the Arts. Judson is the founder of Cumbe Center for Diasporic Arts’ Dance Drum and Imagination Camp for Children and co-founder of Family Arts (FAM). Alongside her husband, Judson offers spaces for families to learn, explore and create. Judson is a newly appointed visiting associate professor at the University at Buffalo where she is investigating jazz embodiment, education and organizing aesthetics as well as leading a charge to redesign the jazz curriculum to better reflect the rich contributions of the African Diaspora.
MAME DIARRA SPEIS
(Co-Artistic Director) Mame Diarra Speis a mother and movement improviser intrigued with play, risk, rigor and experimentation. She is currently a performer and the co-artistic director of the critically acclaimed Urban Bush Women. Speis has had the pleasure of working with Gesel Mason, The Dance Exchange, jumatatu poe, Deborah Hay (as part of Some Sweet Day curated by Ralph Lemon at The Museum of Modern Art), Baba Israel, Marjani Forte-Saunders and Liz Lerman. She recently performed as a guest artist with MBDance in the Motherboard Suite with artist Saul Williams, under the direction of Bill T. Jones. Speis was the recipient of the Alvin Ailey New Directions Choreography Lab and was awarded a Bessie for Outstanding Performer in 2017. Her work has been featured at The Kennedy Center, Long Island University, Joyce SoHo, Hollins University, Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance, Danspace Project, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Dixon Place, BRIC, Dance Place and The Kelly Strayhorn Theater. Speis has developed a movement and teaching practice that explores pelvic mobility as the root of powerful locomotion and as a point of connection to the stories, experiences and lineages that reside in each of us. She has been a guest artist and teacher throughout the United States, South America, Senegal and Europe. Speis has also taught at Princeton University as a lecturer in dance. She has been fortunate to continue building a strong relationship with her alma mater, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), in various capacities and was the commencement speaker for the VCU arts graduating class of 2021. Her recent projects include Walking with Trane co-choreographed with Jawole Willa Jo Zollar and her collaboration with Chanon Johnson on Hair and Other Stories and Haint Blu
URBAN BUSH WOMEN WHO’S WHO
STEPHANIE BATTLE
(Performer)
Stephanie Battle is a dance artist, vocalist, somatic practitioner and educator. She earned her BFA from the University of the Arts and is currently working toward her MFA in Dance at Florida State University. Battle is a former member of Urban Bush Women under the direction of Jawole Willa Jo Zollar. She has danced with the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble, performing the works of Ronald K. Brown, Donald McKayle, Milton Myers, Dianne McIntyre, Katherine Dunham and Talley Beatty. Battle has had the honor of working with Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon and Toshi Reagon in the rock opera The Temptation of St. Anthony under the direction of Robert Wilson and had the privilege of performing in the Broadway production of The Lion King
BRITTANY
BLAND (Projections Designer)
Brittany Bland is a passionate storyteller dedicated to fostering empathy through her work as a projection designer for the stage. She has an extensive portfolio that includes designs for theater, dance and opera. Her notable recent credits include Becoming A Man at A.R.T., Westerly Breath at the MET Museum, Amani at Rattlestick Theater, A Raisin in the Sun at the Public Theater, and Goddess at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Bland holds an MFA from the Yale School of Drama and is a proud recipient of the 1/52 Project grant, which supports emerging theater artists.
of booking at MAPP International Productions for six-plus years, overseeing booking and touring of all of MAPP’s multi-disciplinary projects. Artists included: Nora Chipaumire; Marc Bamuthi Joseph; Okwui Okpokwasili; Ralph Lemon; Samita Sinha; Dan Hurlin; Lars Jan; Gregory Maqoma/ Vuyani Dance Theater; Emio Greco & Pieter C. Scholten (ICK Amsterdam); Faustin Linyekula; David Zambrano; and others. Prior to working with MAPP International, she was an artist representative at Pentacle and held a variety of positions in the dance and theater world with artists such as Noche Flamenca, Susan Marshall & Company and many more. Coe spent the earlier part of her career working on various film and television projects and holding leadership roles in film organizations (Women Make Movies, Icarus Films, and Independent Filmmaker Project/Minnesota). She has served on numerous screening committees and evaluation juries, including Theater Communications Group/Global Connections, P.O.V./ American Documentary, Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s National Black Programming Consortium and New York State Council on the Arts.
COURTNEY
J. COOK (Associate Artistic Director) Courtney J. Cook is a Virginia native
with Urban Bush Women, in the world premiere of their latest opera Intelligence. She also recently made her debut at The Met Opera in John Adam’s El Niño, directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz and choreographed by Marjani Forte-Saunders.
JORDYN DAVIS (Music Director, Bass)
Jordyn Davis is a groundbreaking, multi-talented and award-winning bassist, composer, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She is the first African-American woman to receive a bachelor’s degree in Music Composition from Michigan State University and the first Michigan State student to receive a bachelor’s degree in Music Composition and Jazz Studies concurrently. Davis has also completed a master’s degree in Jazz Studies at Michigan State University. After relocating to New York City, she was named one of two inaugural Jazz Leader Fellowship recipients by the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music and has been commissioned by The Kennedy Center, the New York Philharmonic, and the American Composers Orchestra. Her work spans various musical styles and has been featured on stages worldwide.
MICHELLE COE (Director of Production, Booking & Touring)
Michelle Coe has worked in the worlds of performing arts and independent film for more than two decades. Prior to joining Urban Bush Women in 2017, she was director
now residing in Brooklyn, NY. She is a graduate of the Virginia Governor’s School of the Arts and holds a BFA in Dance and Choreography from Virginia Commonwealth University. She is now Associate Artistic Director, BOLD facilitator and performing company member with Urban Bush Women. She is honored to be a recipient of the 2018 “Bessie” Award for Outstanding Performance for her work with Urban Bush Women, Maria Bauman (MBDance), and Marguerite Hemmings (we free). In 2022, Cook was involved as performer/choreographic collaborator and vocalist in Cannabis! A Viper Vaudville, created by Baba Israel and Grace Galu Kalambay (Soul Inscribed). In the fall of 2023, she made her debut performance with Houston Grand Opera as a dancer, commissioned
KENTORIA
EARLE (Performer)
Kentoria Earle was raised in Winter Haven, Florida, and is the proud daughter of Kent Earle and Victoria Wilson. She recently graduated from Florida State University where she obtained her Master of Arts in Dance/Studio Related Studies. Since graduating she has had the opportunity to work with choreographers/ companies such as Renegade Performance Group, Abigail Levine, and Urban Bush Women as a 2022 New York Community Trust Van Lier Fellow and now company member. Earle is a Brooklyn-based performing artist and collaborator who works to build an artistic process that looks at solo/ improvisational practices as a way to tap into ancestry and lineage-based
movement exploration. She believes these practices support and open up spaces where artists can be fully present for what often results in holistic and sustainable approaches to our healing, individually and collectively.
ROOBI GASKINS (Performer)
Roobi Gaskins is a New York City-based artist who specializes in dance, choreography and wearable art. Although she has always had a passion for dance, she owes her movement genesis and training to 14 years of competitive figure skating, where she competed internationally as a member of the Puerto Rican national team. She began her formal dance training at Bard College where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Dance with a focus in Africana Studies. Gaskins has been a touring company member with Urban Bush Women since 2021. In addition, Gaskins holds a rigorous practice in house dance, where she teaches the form in the New York City area and participates in battles both nationally and internationally.
LORI GASSIE (Associate Costume Designer) After cultivating her design skills and southern charm while growing up in Florida, Lori Gassie moved to New York City. She has been designing costumes for dance, theatre, film and performance artists ever since. She graduated from Florida State University with a degree in apparel design. From there, she designed couture bridal wear under Suzanne Perron and custom dance costumes for Kenerly Kreations and Art Stone Theatrical. She is currently the owner and designer of Lori Gassie Designs, a custom costume studio in Queens, New York, that brings to life a variety of concepts and characters. Her work can be seen across international stages, on performance artists and on television screens.
CRAIG HARRIS (Composer)
Craig Harris exploded onto the jazz scene in 1976, bringing the entire
history of the jazz trombone with him. Harris handled the total vernacular the way a skilled orator utilizes the spoken word. He has performed with a veritable “who’s who” of progressive jazz’s most important figures, and his own projects display both a unique sense of concept and a total command of the sweeping expanse of musical expression. Those two qualities have dominated Harris’ 40 years of activity, bringing him beyond the confines of the jazz world into multimedia and performance art as a composer, performer, conceptualist, music curator and artistic director.
Harris, who comes from a tradition of art as cultural facilitation to help promote change, has employed his musical voice to comment on social injustice with projects including God’s Trombones, based on James Weldon Johnson’s book of sermons; Souls Within the Veil commemorating the centennial of W.E.B. DuBois’ seminal work; TriHarlenium, a sound portrait and 30-year musical time capsule of Harlem; and Brown Butterfly, a tribute to the exquisite movements of Muhammad Ali.
GARY JONES (Drums) Gary Jones is a 23-year-old percussionist and composer based in Manhattan, New York. Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Jones has drawn a tremendous influence from gospel and hip-hop music while growing up. Over the past few years, while attending the New School College of the Performing Arts, Jones has been studying traditional, avant-garde and contemporary jazz with a notable list of artists, including Buster Williams, Dave Glasser and Matt Wilson. Jones has worked and performed with many prestigious artists such as Terence Blanchard, Reggie Workman, Dominick Farinacci and Cisco Swank, among others. Jones
has a deep passion for art and cherishes every moment serving as a creative vessel. His mission is to bring the community together through his music.
KEOLA JONES (Performer)
Raised in Richmond, VA, Keola Jones is a Brooklyn-based movement artist.
She is a 2022 graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University with a BFA in Dance and Choreography. Jones has worked with artists including Christopher K. Morgan & Artists, Johnnie Cruise Mercer (TheREDprojectNYC), Dr. E. Gaynell Sherrod and Trebien Pollard, among others. She served as adjunct professor at the College of William & Mary. Additionally, Jones works with the Leah Glenn Dance Theatre based in Williamsburg, Virginia. Jones is currently a B.O.L.D. facilitatorin-training and concluded her apprenticeship with Urban Bush Women in January 2024 to join as a performing company member.
JASON KAISER (Production Stage Manager)
Jason Kaiser has done 25 shows at Bard, including The
Gauntlet, Most Happy in Concert, Bitter Sweet, Salome and The Cunning Little Vixen. Select credits: Trisha Brown Dance Company tour; Bark of Millions (Sydney Opera House, tour); Monsoon Wedding (St. Ann’s); Kiki and Herb SLEIGH (BAM); Social! and Party in the Bardo (both at Park Avenue Armory); Oklahoma! (Broadway, St. Ann’s); A 24-Decade History of Popular Music with Taylor Mac (St. Ann’s, tour); Available Light with Lucinda Childs Dance Company; Einstein on the Beach (BAM, tour); three world-premiere plays by Athol Fugard; two European tours of Jesus Christ Superstar directed and choreographed by Baayork Lee.
URBAN BUSH WOMEN WHO’S WHO
TENDAYI KUUMBA (Performer & Dance Captain)
Tendayi Kuuma is one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to watch 2023” and the winner of the Chita Rivera “Outstanding Dancer” Award for her role as Lady in Brown in the Tony®-nominated Broadway revival of Ntozoké Shange’s For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/ When the Rainbow is Enuf, choreographed/ directed by Camille A. Brown. International dancer, choreographer, singer, songwriter and Spelman College graduate, Kuumba formerly performed as a background vocalist/dancer & original cast member of Special Tony® Award-winning David Byrne’s America Utopia on Broadway, its world tour in 2018 and the HBO Film adaptation directed by Spike Lee.
Choreographer, vocalist, actress and previously a touring company member of Urban Bush Women, Kuumba is a longtime collaborator with partner Greg Purnell under the alias ÜFLYMOTHERSHIP. A collective of sonic/choreographic projects, including The Mixtape Incog-negro and other works have been featured at AfroPunk, Gibney Dance, Stephen Petronio Residency Center, New York Live Arts, Movement Researches’ Spring Festival, Czech Center NY’s New York Prague Effects, Dancespace Collective Terrains platform, Spelman olleges’ Toni Cade Bambara Scholar- Activism Conference, Harlem Stage, Hi-ARTS, BRICLab, Dance Mission Theaters’ D.I.R.T Festival 2021 & Park Avenue Armory’s 100 Women/100 Years and Lincoln Center’s Restart Stages. She has worked with choreographers T. Lang, Marjani Forte’-Saunders (7NMS), ASÉ Dance Theater Collective, Nathan Trice and Philadelphia Operas’ We Shall Not be Moved directed by Bill T. Jones. She continues to build her pedagogy as a teaching artist and B.O.L.D Facilitator for Urban Bush Women. She gives thanks and blessings for life, love, breath and the pursuit of happiness through creativity.
TYREEK McDOLE (Vocals) Tyreek McDole a 24-year-old HaitianAmerican vocalist from sunny Florida, who shines brilliantly as his star rises in the bustling New York scene. With a string of prestigious awards to his name, McDole stands out as a rising star in the music world. It was during the acclaimed Jazz at Lincoln Center’s 2018 Essentially Ellington National Competition that McDole made his vocal debut, leaving an indelible mark as he walked away with the prestigious Outstanding Vocalist Award, presented by none other than the iconic Wynton Marsalis. His performances have seen him share the stage with an impressive roster of musicians and acts, including Theo Croker, NEA Jazz Master Gary Bartz, Miki Yamanaka, Mike King, Mike Ode, Eric Wheeler, Ted Nash, Matt Wilson, Ben Allison, Rodney Whitaker, Rockelle Fortin, Winard Harper, Marcus Printup, Eric Reed, Carl Allen, Victor Goines, Chris Crenshaw, Johnathan Michel, Isaiah J. Thompson, Miki Yamanaka, Charlie Sigler, Chris Beck, Kyle Koehler and many others. Together, they have graced renowned venues like The Blue Note, Dizzy’s Club, Birdland Theatre, Jazz at Lincoln Center and Minton’s Playhouse, enthralling audiences with their collective artistry and musical prowess.
TAJ RAUCH
(Associate Projections Designer) Taj Rauch is an immersive storyteller with an appetite for learning anything he can get his hands on. With a background in playwriting, cinematography, installation and projections, he has convinced himself that world-building is best done by exploring every element.
Most recently, he has become obsessed with the conversation between the physical and the virtual, and how the longer you look at them, the less you can tell the difference. His work has been featured in Fringe Festival, PAFA
Museum, IceBox Project Space, Vox Populi Gallery and on The Today Show
He is currently a professor of media design at the University of the Arts.
MIKAILA WARE (Performer) (BFA Florida State University)
Mikaila Ware grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, where she trained at Price Performing Arts Center and Dekalb School of the Arts. Now a New York-based movement artist, teacher and facilitator, Ware has worked with choreographers such as Kayla Farrish, André Zachery and Johnnie Cruise Mercer. She was a guest teacher at SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance Program (Fall 2020). Her performances have been featured in The New York Times, Dance Magazine, Dance Enthusiast and Danspace Project. Additionally, Ware completed the Accessibility Partnerships and Programs Fellowship at Lincoln Center and is an alumna of the Diversity in Arts Leadership program with the Arts and Business Council of New York. She is currently a company member with Urban Bush Women.
SYMARA SARAI (Performer)
Symara Sarai is a Portland, Oregon, native currently residing in Brooklyn, who has immersed herself in interdisciplinary and choreographic studies globally. Her work varies due to the different influences she has embraced throughout her life. A 2023 Bessie Winner for Breakout Choreographer, Sarai is also a recipient of the Dai Ailian Foundation Scholarship based in Trinidad and Tobago. The scholarship led her to Beijing, China, where she spent two years gaining an associate degree in modern choreography at the renowned Beijing Dance Academy. Sarai is a graduate of SUNY Purchase’s Conservatory of Dance Program. She was a resident artist for Bearnstow, Gibney 6.2 Work Up, Gallim’s 2022 Moving Artist’s Residency, BAX’s Fall 2022 Space Grant
Program and Center for Performance Research’s 2022 AIR Program. She is a 2023 Women in Motion Commissioned Artist. Her work as a performer and maker has been reviewed and featured in the The New York Times, Dance Enthusiast, Fjord Review, as well as promoted through Forbes. She has had multiple film works commissioned by Berlin-based choreographer Christoph Winkler.
T.W. SAMPLE (Keyboard)
A native of Memphis, Tennessee, T.W. Sample has a style that spans from jazz to gospel, R&B to hip-hop, and classic rock to country. His talent allows him to be a proficient pianist, Hammond B3 organist and keyboardist. Sample graduated from Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education, William Paterson University with a Master of Music in Jazz Performance and Five Towns College with a Doctor of Musical Arts in Jazz Performance and Commercial Music. In addition to touring, Sample is an educator, a music producer and a proud member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated.
RUSSELL SANDIFER (Lighting Designer)
Russell Sandifer is a professor, associate chair, director of production and lighting designer for the Florida State University School of Dance, where he teaches visual design and production coursework. He has designed roughly 2,000 dance works over a 40+ year career, almost 100 musicals, 10 operas and a few straight plays. Companies include The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for The Suzanne Farrell Ballet, Urban Bush Women and Seaside Music Theatre. He was also the production manager and lighting director for the 2012 American College Dance Association National Festival. Sandifer is a member of the United Scenic Artists and a lifetime member of the American College Dance Association.
JONATHAN D. SECOR (Executive Producer)
Jonathan D. Secor has worked in and around the arts for over three decades as a facilitator for creative artists and ideas. He is delighted to once again be working with Urban Bush Women. As a creative producer, Secor has been part of projects large and small, including as producer for the recent New York City Free Festival on Little Island, as artistic director for the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, director of performing arts at MASS MoCA, director of programming at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and the founder and director of the Berkshire Cultural Resource Center in North Adams, Massachusetts. Secor was instrumental in the creation of the arts management major at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) and has taught at SUNY Purchase, Yale School of Drama and MCLA. Secor was general manager for 651 Arts and started his career as a production manager and stage manager, working throughout the United States and Europe. Secor splits his time between Florida Mountain, Massachusetts, and Harlem, NYC, and is the proud father of Alegra Dora and Christina Gabriela.
CHERI L. STOKES
(Assistant Director & Associate Producer) Born and raised in Bed Stuy Brooklyn, Cheri L. Stokes received her MFA in choreography and performance from Florida State University (2017) and a B.A. in dance studies with a K-12 Dance Teaching Licensure from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (2005). Stokes’ expertise includes over 10 years of dance education and arts administration. She has been a guest teaching artist at various institutions including Florida State University, Austin Peay State University, Elon University, Western Kentucky University, University of Tampa, Bard College and the University at Buffalo. She is the recipient of the
Stephen Petronio Retreat and Restore dance residency (Spring 2021), Brooklyn Arts Exchange Space Grant Residency (2023), Brooklyn Arts Exchange Artist in Residence (2024/2025), Hi-Arts Critical Breaks Artist in Residence (Spring 2024) and the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) Support for Artists Grant (2024).
MILTON SUGGS
(Vocals) Milton Suggs’s voice and musical approach reflect the profound African-
American heritage from the past century and beyond. Rooted in the blues, Suggs’ rich baritone echoes the breadth and power of Joe Williams, his soulful intensity evokes Donny Hathaway, and his velvet tones are reminiscent of Nat King Cole. A master of phrasing and dynamics, Suggs’s music, as a composer, arranger and lyricist, is both honest and inventive, drawing from a myriad of genres to create a distinct identity. Voted repeatedly as a Top 10 rising star male vocalist in Downbeat Magazine’s annual critic’s poll, Suggs has worked with renowned artists like the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Orrin Evans, Wycliffe Gordon and Ulysses Owens. Suggs has produced five albums and continuously develops new projects as he remains dedicated to exploring new creative terrain and furthering the legacy of his predecessors.
BRIANNA THOMAS
(Vocals) Born and raised in Peoria, Brianna Thomas grew up surrounded by music.
Her father, Charlie Thomas, not only influenced her with his own unique talents as a vocalist and percussionist, he created an exceptionally wellrounded musical environment that fostered Thomas’s emerging abilities. At the tender age of six, Thomas made her singing debut performing a duet rendition of the jazz classic What A Wonderful World with her father. At the age of eight, she won her first of 13 trophies from various district
URBAN BUSH WOMEN WHO’S WHO
and regional talent shows. Between the ages of eight and 10, she had her first gigs performing for a variety of banquets, black tie affairs and as a guest on local radio stations. Thomas’s extensive list of stateside performances includes appearances with Fred Anderson, Von Freeman, Houston Person and the Barber Brothers. She has performed across the country from New Orleans to Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center. In 2001, Thomas was awarded “High School Jazz Vocalist of the Year” by Downbeat Magazine Notably, Thomas is the youngest person ever to be inducted into Peoria’s African-American Hall of Fame in 1996 at the age of 13. She has also received a certificate of excellence from the State of Illinois in recognition of her musical accomplishments.
VINCENT THOMAS (Cochoreographer) Dancer, choreographer and teacher, Vincent Thomas received his MFA in dance from Florida State University and a BME in music from the University of South Carolina. He has danced with Dance Repertory Theatre (FSU), Randy James Dance Works (NY/NJ), EDGEWORKS Dance Theater (DC) and Liz Lerman Dance Exchange (MD). His choreography has been presented at various national and international venues including DUMBO Festival (NY), Philly Fringe (PA), Edinburgh Fringe Festival (UKScotland), Barcelona and Madrid, Spain, Avignon, France, Athens, Greece, Bari, Italy, Copenhagen, Denmark, Taipei and Singapore. He received rave reviews for his performance of Come Change (2012) and iWitness (2014) in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland. Vincent was the movement coach/choreographer for Everyman Theater’s Brother’s Size by Tarell Alvin McCraney, Mosaic Theatre’s Unexplored Interior by Jay Sander, and Everyman Theater’s Los Otros by Ellen Fitzhugh. He is the artistic director/ choreographer of the national touring What’s Going On project. Vincent was awarded the 2017 Pola Nirenska Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance (DC), the 2019 University System of Maryland Regents Faculty Award for Excellence in Research, Scholarship &
Creative Activity, 2020 MDEA Living Legacy Award, 2021 Baker Artist Award, a 2022 Baker Award Finalist and a 2023 Black History Month Honoree for Richland District Two (SC). He is the founder/artistic director of VTDance, an Urban Bush Women BOLD Facilitator, faculty member for the UBW Summer Institutes (NY), associate choreographer for Intelligence Opera (with Jawole Willa Jo Zollar), and Professor of Dance at Towson University (MD).
BILL TOLES (Sound Designer) Audelco Award winner and Grammy® nominee
Bill Toles works across specialties as a musician, composer, designer, director, creator, production manager, producer and manager in theatre, film, dance, music and performance and installation art. He heads BLACK ATLANTIC creative collection (BAcc) and MAROON MOTION MEDIA (M3), multi-media production companies that provide creative solutions for live performance, installation art, film and video production. BAcc and M3’s services include concert and event production planning and management, event documentation to recorded/ filmed media, media design and implementation for live stage, film and video pre -and post-production, Foley, sound effects, music composition and audio production, music supervision services, information and direction on intellectual property rights issues and audio design consultation.
CHARENEE WADE (Vocals) First runner-up in the 2010 Thelonious Monk Vocal Competition, Charenee Wade is an award-winning and awardwinning and critically acclaimed vocalist, arranger, educator and composer from New York City. She has excited audiences all over the world with her ingenuity and vibrancy through her artistry. Recipient of the 2017 Jazz at Lincoln Center Millennial Swing Award,
Wade has worked with notable artists including Wynton Marsalis, Terri Lyne Carrington, Christian McBride, Winard Harper, Eric Reed, Jacky Terrason, Curtis Lundy, Robert Glasper and Kyle Abraham (MacArthur Genius Awardee). Wade’s current CD Offering: The Music of Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson is a powerful reinterpretation of the poet’s musical library, which features notable artists including Lonnie Plaxico, Marcus Miller, Stefon Harris, Malcolm-Jamal Warner and Christian McBride (spoken word).
TALVIN WILKS (Dramaturg) Playwright, director and dramaturg, Talvin Wilks is based in Minneapolis and New York City. Dramaturgy credits: for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enough (2022 Broadway Revival), Dreaming Zenzile (New York Theatre Workshop/NBT), Between the World and Me (The Apollo), SCAT!, Haint Blu, Walkin’ with ‘Trane, Hep Hep Sweet Sweet (Urban Bush Women), ink, Black Girl: Linguistic Play, Mr. TOL E RanCE (Camille A. Brown and Dancers), In a Rhythm, A History, Necessary Beauty, Landing-Place, Verge (Bebe Miller Company). He is an associate professor in the Theatre Arts and Dance Department, University of Minnesota/Twin Cities, a 2020 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow and a 2022 McKnight Presidential Fellow.
URBAN BUSH WOMEN STAFF
Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Founder
Chanon Judson & Mame Diarra Speis, Co-Artistic Directors/BOLD Directors
Tahnia Belle, Acting Executive Director
Jonathan D. Secor, Producer & Creative Executive Producer, 40th Anniversary
Lesley Hunter, Director of Operations
Michelle Coe, Director of Production, Booking & Touring
Cheri L. Stokes, Associate Producer of Special Projects
Pia Monique Murray, Associate Producer, 40th Anniversary
Makeda Smith, Marketing Manager
Angelina Lopez, Marketing Assistant
Ameeya Singh, Operations Assistant
Brooke Rucker, Development Associate
Veronica Jiao, Founder’s Assistant
Elsie Neilson, Executive Assistant to the Co-Artistic Directors
Zoe Walders, Executive Assistant to the Acting Executive Director
Henry Liles, Finance Manager
Camille Lawrence, Archivist
Whitney Christopher, Archives Assistant
Pinar Goodstone, BOLD Coordinator
Jaimé Yawa Dzandu, BOLD Artistic Coordinator
Dani Criss, BOLD Facilitator
Advance NYC, Development Consultants
Paloma McGregor, SLI Associate Director
Lai-Lin Robinson, CCI 2.0 & When Black Women Speak Producer
Bennalldra Williams, Movement Coach
Urban Bush Women Company Apprentices are supported by The New York Community Trust Van Lier Fellowships: Kashia Kancey, J’nae Simmons, Synead Cidney Nichols, Mikayla Young and Mawu Ama Ma’at G. Oyesii
For booking: Michelle Coe, Director of Production, Booking & Touring: mcoe@urbanbushwomen.org
Urban Bush Women 40th Anniversary leadership funding provided by Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Howard Gilman Foundation.
MAJOR FUNDING FOR URBAN BUSH WOMEN IS PROVIDED BY: Anonymous; Acton Family Giving; Bloomberg Philanthropies; David Rockefeller Fund; Doris Duke Foundation; Ford Foundation; Howard Gilman Foundation; The Institute of Museum and Library Services; International Association of Blacks in Dance; Mellon Foundation; National Endowment for the Arts (NEA); National Performance Network (NPN) Creation & Development Fund; New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project; The New York Community Trust Van Lier Fellowship Program; New York State Council on the Arts; New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; The Shubert Foundation; Solidaire Black Liberation Pooled Fund; Barnard College Center for Research on Women, Barnard College Office of Community Engagement & Inclusion; The O’Donnell-Green Music and Dance Foundation; The Harkness Foundation for Dance
Connect with UBW: urbanbushwomen.org
Facebook: @urbanbushwomen | X: @ubwdance | Instagram: @ubwdance
Urban Bush Women / SCAT!... The Complex Lives of Al & Dot, Dot & Al Zollar November 22–24, 2024
Batsheva Dance Company / MOMO February 14–16, 2025
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Mixed Repertory including Revelations
April 2–6, 2025
Grupo Corpo / 21 & Gira May 2–4, 2025
Boston Ballet / Swan Lake June 26–29, 2025
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s James Gilmer. Photo by Dario Calmese.
Anonymous
Edison International | Fox Rothschild LLP | KPMG | Macy's MonteCedro | Morrison & Foerster | Porsche | PricewaterhouseCoopers Sony Pictures Entertainment | U.S. Venture/Schmidt Family Foundation | UCLA Health
The Music Center is Los Angeles’s performing arts leader, enriching the cultural lives of more than 400,000 members of our diverse community with more than 1,000 performances and arts activities every year.
Corporate supporters gain exclusive benefits and experiences:
• Meet like-minded business leaders
• Entertain clients
• Increase philanthropic recognition
For more information: musiccenter.org/businesspartners or contact Jason Frazier jfrazier@musiccenter.org (213) 972-3319
Photo by John McCoy for The Music Center.
Center Dance Arts (CDA) is a dynamic community of patrons with a passion for dance. CDA brings dance to life in Los Angeles by promoting The Music Center’s world-class dance performances, extensive arts learning, local dance and free and low-cost experiences, helping ensure that all may know and experience the transformative power of this incredible art form.
CONNECT
with arts patrons and dance enthusiasts in a variety of fun social settings around Los Angeles.
CELEBRATE
dance and enjoy behind-thescenes access such as salons, receptions and artist talks featuring dance luminaries.
INSPIRE
thousands of people with extraordinary performances, groundbreaking new works, innovative dance learning in schools and community dancing experiences.
Q&A at the Meet the Artists Reception. Pictured above (L–R): The Music Center’s President and CEO Rachel S. Moore and Ballet Hispánico’s company member Amanda del Valle, company Artistic Director & CEO Eduardo Vilaro and company member Omar Rivéra. Photo by Michelle Shiers for The Music Center.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Caroline T. Dartey (left) and Chalvar Monteiro (right). Photos by Dario Calmese.
The Music Center Thanks Center Dance Arts
From all of us at The Music Center, we thank Center Dance Arts members for their unwavering support of dance. We welcome you and look forward to many seasons of dance ahead!
Center Dance Arts Board of Directors
Charlene Achki-Repko President
Jane Jelenko* Founding President
Liane Weintraub* Founding Chair
Mattie McFadden Lawson
Chair Emerita
Catharine Soros
Chair Emerita
Jane ArnaultFactor, Ph.D.*
Susan Baumgarten
JoAnn Bourne
Robert Braun
Terri Childs
Brian Duck
Mira Hashmall
Joan Herman
Liz Levitt Hirsch* In memoriam
Edward Lazarus
Judith Reichman, M.D.
Julia Strickland
Sue Tsao
Ana T. Valdez
Diane Wittenberg
* Founding Member
Center Dance Arts
Center Dance Arts Members
DANCE SPONSOR
($25,000+)
Liz Levitt Hirsch
Allen and Anita Kohl
Olivia and Anthony Neece
Marie Song
DANCE AMBASSADOR
($10,000 – $24,999)
Charlene Achki-Repko
Jane Arnault-Factor
Sue Baumgarten
JoAnn and Wayland Bourne
Walter and Sara Chameides
Brian Duck and Chad Olsen
Joan A. Friedman, Ph.D. and Robert N.
Braun, M.D.
Mira Hashmall, Esq.
Joan Herman and Richard Rasiej
Jane Jelenko
Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles
Carol and Patrick Kinsella
Edward Lazarus and Amanda Moose
MaddocksBrown Foundation
Judith Reichman, M.D.
Koni and Geoffrey Rich
Catharine and Jeffrey Soros
Julia Strickland and Timothy Wahl
Sue Tsao
Anna T Valdez
Cynthia Watson M.D. and David B.
Katzin M.D. Ph.D.
Alyce Williamson
DANCE ADVOCATE
($5,000 – $9,999)
K&F Baxter Family Foundation
Karla and Richard Chernick
Terri and Timothy Childs
Elizabeth and Brack Duker
Lisa Field
June Li
Anita Lorber
David Minning and Diane Wittenberg
DANCE ENTHUSIAST
($2,500 – $4,999)
Donna Altmann
Barry Baker
Paul N. Barkopoulos, M.D.
Sharon and Gray Davis
Lynne and James DeWitt
Jennifer Diener
Gerry Friedman
Leslie and Frederick Gaylord
Marcy Gross
David and Susan Hirsch Household
Bonnie Oda Homsey and Philip R. Homsey II
Jay Kinn and Jules Vogel
Aliza Lesser
Beth and Leslie Michelson
Kathy and Michael Moray
Renae Williams Niles and Greg Niles
Ellen Pansky
Sandra Rapke
Julia M. Ritter
Helene Rosenzweig, M.D.
Karen Weinstein
DANCE PATRON
($1,000 – $2,499)
Laura and Kenneth Adler
Joanne Baizer
Josephine Baurac
David Bender
David Shaw and
Sheila Blackwell
Dr. Judith Flinder Blumenthal
Irene and Stuart Boyd
Rose Chan and Warren Loui
Marlene Chavez Ph.D
Lillian Chin
Allison Clago
Nancy Cotton
Nancy Neal Davis
Judith and Jerrold Felsenthal
Judy and Arnie Fishman
Tony Foster
Susan Friedman
Paul Greenberg Household
Leonie Gross
Penny Haberman
Claire and Robert Heron
Christine M. Hessler
AC Hoffing
Mary Ann HuntJacobsen
Harold Huttas and Scott McPhail
Linda and David Kagel
Barbara and Richard Kernochan
Vivian Krepack
Rosanne Lapan
Carl Large
Deborah B. Lewis
Stephen and Jennifer Maguire Household
Paula Marcus
Kim Margolin
Julie McDonald
Sara Jane McKernan
Vibiana Molina
Diane Morton
Beatrice H. Nemlaha
Steven Neu
David Richard Pullman
Nan Rae
Kathleen Reiss
Hadley and Lee Rierson
Ricki and Marvin Ring
Richard Rho and Steven DeMille
Desiree Samuels
Kirsten Sarkisian
Maxine Savitz
Bob and Helene
Schacter
Sherie and Alan Schneider
Sabrina Heron Strong
Joanne Takahashi
Roni Tunick
Leon and Stephanie Vahn Household
Laurie Vender and Stephen Halper
Daniel and Janice
Wallace
Laura Wallace
Marcia and Charles Wasserman
Karen and Les Weinstein
Dianna Wong
Pictured above (L–R): Glorya Kaufman and Paulo Hernandez-Farella, Ballet Hispánico company member and alum of USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance; CDA members and guests at the Center Dance Arts Dance Season Preview Brunch (L–R): Koni and Geoff Rich, Sue Tsao and Marian Hall. Photos by Michelle Shiers for The Music Center.
Invest In The Arts For All
Friends of TMC Arts welcomes you to be a part of it by investing in the arts for all. It takes all of us to create meaningful arts experiences that champion the diverse voices and communities of Los Angeles. Join The Music Center as we bring together artists, children, teachers and people of all ages and backgrounds to make Los Angeles a better place. Your charitable gift to The Music Center’s Friends of TMC Arts Annual Fund supports unforgettable performances, immersive programs that welcome everyone as well as learning opportunities in hundreds of schools and community partnerships across L.A. Contact Friends of TMC Arts at (213) 972-4349 or membership@musiccenter.org | musiccenter.org/give
We invite you to consider a legacy gift that will create inclusive arts and cultural experiences that champion the diverse voices and communities of Los Angeles for generations to come.
Imagine a child experiencing a live performance for the first time, a teacher discovering new ways to inspire students, a couple enjoying a world-renowned dance company or a family learning new dance moves together. Know that it is your everlasting kindness that allows The Music Center to provide these meaningful experiences that enrich the lives of all Angelenos.
Imagine the impact your legacy gift can make!
WAYS TO GIVE:
• Include a gift in your will or living trust
• Designate The Music Center as a beneficiary of your retirement plan or life insurance policy
• Establish a charitable gift annuity or charitable remainder trust
• Create an estate note, which is an irrevocable pledge against one’s estate
• Create an endowed fund
To learn more, contact Becky Birdsong at (213) 972-3358 or visit MusicCenterLegacy.org.
PLANNED GIFTS AND ENDOWMENT GIFTS
$1,000,000 AND ABOVE
The Ahmanson Foundation
The Ashkenas and Fabian Family Bank of America Foundation
The Blue Ribbon
Terri and Timothy Childs
David Conlon
Jill and Curtis Kaufman
Diane and Leon Morton
Merle and Peter Mullin
National Endowment for the Arts
Robert Olsen
Fredric M. Roberts
Frank J. Sherwood
Dorothy C. Waugh
PLANNED GIFTS AND ENDOWMENT GIFTS
UP TO $999,999
Anonymous (4)
Phyllis Abrams and Jules Smith
Caroline L. Ahmanson
The Annenberg Foundation
Kathryn A. Ballsun
Pamela and Dennis Beck
Judith and Thomas Beckmen
Miriam Birch
Judith Blumenthal
Borden-Rozner Trust
Linda and Maynard
Brittan
Maurice and Jane Cattani Club 100
Margaret Sheehy Collins
Dorothy and Sherill Corwin
Mary Levin Cutler
James A. Doolittle Foundation
Kimberly Marteau and John Emerson
Sylvia Kunin Eben
Carolyn Dirks/James B. Gould Foundation
Thomas F. Grose
William Randolph Hearst Foundation
Joan E. Herman and Richard M. Rasiej
Ann and Steve Hinchliffe
Joan E. and John Hotchkis
Freya and Mark Ivener
Robert Jesberg and Michael J. Carmody
“ I would love to see The Music Center so richly endowed that they can afford to offer even more student outreach and more free programs for the community. The next generation is our future, and this is a momentous time to make a meaningful contribution.” — Diane Morton, Dorothy Chandler Society Member
Carrie and Stuart Ketchum
Joyce and Kent Kresa
Helen Lamm
Dr. Stephen Lee
Mrs. J. Hart Lyon
Rachel S. Moore and Robert Ryan
Stephen D. Moses
Robin and Gerald Parsky
James B. Pendleton Foundation
Barbara and Sheldon Pinchuk
Nan Rae
Lee and Larry Ramer
Penelope C. Roeder
Constance E. RoPolo
Mimi Rotter
Barbara & Charles Schneider
Mary Shambra
Howard Sherman and J. Gregg Houston
Lisa Specht
I.H. Sutnick
Gretchen Valentine
Andrea and John Van de Kamp
Dietrich Eugene Wagner
Washington Mutual
Special thanks to our donors who wish to remain anonymous.
Thank you for sustaining the arts!
Photo by John McCoy for The Music Center.
INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILY FOUNDATIONS
Donors from 3/1/2023 through 9/30/2024
$1,000,000 AND ABOVE
Robert J. Abernethy
In Memory of Jacqueline and Arthur Burdorf
Terri and Timothy Childs
Glorya Kaufman Foundation
Cindy Miscikowski / The Ring-Miscikowski Foundation / The Ring Foundation
Moss Foundation
Fredric Roberts
Mimi Song
$100,000–$999,999
Helen and Peter Bing
Dorothy B. Chandler Program Fund
Helen Funai Erickson
Mary Ann Hunt-Jacobsen and Eric Jacobsen
Anita Mann Kohl and Allen D Kohl
Terri and Jerry Kohl
Lily Lee and Tom Chang
Marla and Cary Lefton
Marie H. Song
Estate of Rosalind Wyman
$50,000–$99,999
Gregory Adams
Margaret Sheehy Collins
Edgerton Foundation
Marcia Israel Foundation
Alfred E. Mann Charities
Teresita and Shelby Notkin
Ann A. Park
Julia Strickland and Timothy Wahl
Jennifer and Steven Walske
Kurt and Susan
Wegleitner
Alyce de Roulet
Williamson
$25,000–$49,999
Kathy and Charles Adams
William and Karla Ahmanson
The Estate of Martin Balser
Pamela and Dennis Beck
Kristin Burr
Otis and Elizabeth Chandler
Faith Childs-Davis
Brian Duck and Chad Olsen
Johnese Spisso and Ross Hartling
Clarence E. Heller
Charitable Foundation
Donor Advised Fund
Erika and Jeff Hill
Lisa See and Richard Kendall
Susan and Steven Matt
Beth and Leslie Michelson
Darrell Miller
Olivia and Anthony Neece
The Estate of Robert W. Olsen
Rose and Michael Pagano
Joan Herman and Richard Rasiej
Melissa and Alex Romain
LSMK Investments
Wendy Ruby
Marc and Eva Stern Foundation
Alexandra Seros and Bruno Ulloa
Hope Landis Warner
Wendy and Jay Wintrob
$10,000–$24,999
Charlene Achki-Repko
Donna Altmann
Jane Arnault-Factor
Barnard College
Susan Baumgarten
Estate of Herbert Mayer Berk
JoAnn and Wayland Bourne
Joan A. Friedman, Ph.D. and Robert N. Braun, M.D.
Claire and Brad Brian
Walter and Sara Chameides
Estate of Elizabeth H. Dailey
Richard Ferry
Julie and Bruce Goldsmith
Jill Baldauf and Steven Grossman
Mira Hashmall, Esq.
Jane Jelenko
Soo-Kyong Jo
Cynthia Watson, M.D. and David B. Katzin, M.D., Ph.D.
Jacqueline Kehle
Carol and Patrick Kinsella
Kent Kresa
Amanda Moose and Edward Lazarus
Diane Wittenberg and David Minning
The Parvin Foundation
Mary Ann Weisberg and Bryce Perry
Karen Kay Platt and Lawrence B. Platt
Judith Reichman, M.D.
Monica and Joseph Rice
Geoffrey and Koni Rich
Beverly Ryder
Catharine and Jeffrey Soros
Lisa Specht
Cathy Stone
Sue Tsao
Dee Dee Dorskind and
Bradley Tabach-Bank
Ana Valdez
Paul and Liza Wachter
Lynne Silbert and Seth Weingarten
The Wetsman Foundation/Janis Wetsman
$5,000–$9,999
Maynard and Linda Brittan/Traub-Brittan Family Foundation
MaddocksBrown Foundation
Louise and John Bryson
Mark Dipaola
Michael Dreyer
Gary Duck
Elizabeth and Brack
Duker
Lisa Field
Gerry Friedman
Laura C. Guthman
Cynthia Monaco and Daniel Jaffe
Jacqueline Kehle
June Li
Anita Lorber
De Marchena-Huyke Foundation
Robert Ronus
Fran and Ray Stark Foundation
Rubin and Elinor Turner
Iris M. Whiting
Laura-Lee Woods
$1,000–$4,999
Gay and Harry Abrams
Robert Attiyeh
Joanne Baizer
Barry Baker
Howard Banchik
Paul N. Barkopoulos, M.D.
Josephine Baurac
Frank and Kathy Baxter
David Bender
Joni and Miles Benickes
Beverlee Bickmore and Jim Kelly
Leigh Lindsey and Andrew Blaine
Judith Flinder Blumenthal
Irene and Stuart Boyd
Geri Brawerman
Darrell R. Brown
Reynolds Cafferata
Fanya Carter
Marlene Chavez
Karla and Richard Chernick
Lillian Chin
Allison Clago
Jacqueline Cochran
Jane and Lawrence Cohen
Mel and Renate Cohen
Don and Marilyn Conlan
Janet and Barry Cooper
Nancy Cotton
Aviva Covitz
Alison Bryan Crowell and Richard Crowell
Nadine and Harold Davidson
Nancy Neal Davis
Sharon and Gray Davis
Dr. Richard Rho and
Steven DeMille
Laura Donnelley
Constance B. Elliot
Don and Jackie Feinstein
Jerrold and Judith Felsenthal
Field Family Foundation
Judy and Arnie Fishman
Sandra Krause and William Fitzgerald
Christopher Forman
Malsi Doyle and Michael R. Forman
Susan Friedman
Diane Futterman
Christina Garcia
George and Mary Garvey
Constance Gavin
Leslie and Frederick
Gaylord
Carol S. Gee
Roslyn and Abner
Goldstine
Kelly and Louis Gonda
Helen Gordon
Diane Green
Adrienne and Stuart Green
Paul Greenberg
Cynthia Griffin
Marcy Gross
Cornelia HaagMolkenteller, M.D.
Penny Haberman
Laurie Vender and Stephen Halper
Nancy and Michael Harahan
Sylvia and Steven Harrison
Betty Hayman
Diane J. Henderson
Claire and Robert Heron
Christine M. Hessler
David and Susan Hirsch
Jonathan B. Hodge
Fritz Hoelscher
AC Hoffing
Katinka and Eugene Holt
Bonnie Oda Homsey and Philip R. Homsey II
Monique Gingold and Douglas Honig
Virginia Huey
Ana Iglesias
William H. Isacoff, M.D.
Jody Isenberg
Judith Jenkins
Ruth Jervis
Nikil and Ela Jhaveri
Paul Johnson
Randi and Richard Jones
Linda and David Kagel
Jill and Curtis Kaufman
Natsuo Kawada
Kenneth and Stefanie Kay
James Kelly
Dr. Susan Kendall
Barbara and Richard Kernochan
Jules Vogel and Jay Kinn
Michael and Patricia Klowden
Vivian Krepack
Kathleen and John Lacey
Rosanne Lapan
Rhonda Leal
Ellen and David Li Lee
Samantha Leddel
Stephen Lee
Deborah B. Lewis
Dr. Melvyn Lewis
Claudia Lin
Ellyn and William Lindsay
Mark and Helaine Lipis
Anslyene Lloyd
Mary Looker
Marlene and Sandy Louchheim
Rose Chan and Warren Loui
Maureen and Robert Lucas
Nigel Lythgoe
Stephen and Jennifer Maguire
Corinne Sanchez and Efren Cruz Manjarrez
Ruth Flinkman-Marandy and Ben Marandy
Paula Marcus
Kim Margolin
Pauline Marks
Barbara Marshall
Nancy and Patrick McCabe
Peter and Kathleen McCoy
Julie McDonald
Harold Huttas and Scott McPhail
Sara Jane McKernan
Diane G. Medina
Linda and Sheldon Mehr
Jodie Mendelson
Vibiana Molina
Kathy and Michael Moray
Judge Judson W Morris, Jr.
Patricia Glaser and Sam Mudie
Shaun Murdock
Beatrice H. Nemlaha
Steven Neu
Chris and Richard Newman
Renae Williams Niles and Greg Niles
Michael I. Nissman
Frank O’Dea
Margaret O’Donnell
Alan Oppenheimer
Ellen Pansky
Susan and Michael
Patzakis
Nina and Leo Pircher
Steve Pomeroy
Lawrence Post
Debbie and Rick Powell
Phyllis and Henry Present
Marilyn and Allen Pucket
David Richard Pullman
Nan Rae
Sandra Rapke
Paula Reach
Ellen Regenstreif
Kathleen Reiss
Jennifer Revit
Hadley and Lee Rierson
Sharon Rising
Rosemary and Robert Risley
Julia M. Ritter
Henry Robles
Jaclyn Rosenberg
Laura and James Rosenwald
Helene Rosenzweig, M.D.
Mimi Rotter
Linda and Tony Rubin
Nancy Lee Ruyter
Carol Saikhon
Kirsten Sarkisian
Ariane and Lionel Sauvage
Maxine Savitz
Mariette and Alexander Sawchuk
Helene and Bob Schacter
Special thanks to our donors who wish to remain anonymous.
The Music Center strives to acknowledge all our supporters appropriately. If your name has been misspelled or omitted from this list in error, please contact the Advancement Office at (213) 972-3333.
Sherie and Alan Schneider
Joan Seidel
SF & RL Pepper Family
Foundation
Kimberly Shah
Sheila Blackwell and David Shaw
Jennifer Diener and Eric Small
Lucerne Snipes
Joan Snyder
Julie and Michael Stockton
Sabrina Heron Strong
Kristan and Philip A. Swan
Joanne Takahashi
Clare Phillips Tayback and Christopher Tayback
Peter Taylor
Barbara Augusta Teichert
Roni Tunick
Jessica and William Turner
Stephanie and Leon Vahn
Scott Vandrick and Tony Foster
Andrea and John Van de Kamp
Janice and Daniel Wallace
Laura Wallace
Karen and Les Weinstein
Leslie Vermut and Thomas Weinberger
Leslie Raffel and Robert Wemischer
Susan and Josh Wieder
Hashim Williams
Leilani J. Wilmore
Bonnie Nash and Donald Wing
Dianna Wong
Gillian Wynn
Beth McGlynn and James Zapp
Susan Zolla
The Music Center Thanks Its Supporters
SUPPORTERS
CORPORATIONS, FOUNDATIONS AND GOVERNMENT
$1,000,000 AND ABOVE
County of Los Angeles
$100,000–$999,999
The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation
The Ford Foundation
The Getty Foundation
Max H. Gluck Foundation
Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health
The Music Center Foundation
The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation
$50,000–$99,999
The Ahmanson Foundation
Bank of America
California Arts Council
Genesis Inspiration Foundation
Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture
Superior Grocers
$25,000–$49,999
CA Office of the Small Business Advocate
City of Los Angeles
Department of Cultural Affairs
The Capital Group Companies / Michael Stockton
Dwight Stuart Youth Fund
The Rosalinde & Arthur Gilbert Foundation
Honda
KPMG LLP/Greg Geyer
National Endowment for the Arts
The Robert Nelson Foundation Perenchio Foundation
Silicon Valley Community Foundation
Edward A. and Ai O. Shay Family Foundation
I.N. and Susanna H. Van Nuys Foundation
U.S. Bank / Carl Jordan
$10,000–$24,999
Colburn Foundation
Edison International
David Geffen Foundation
HUB International Insurance Services, Inc.
Insurance Brokers
The Kenneth T. and Eileen L. Norris Foundation
The Korea Foundation
The Liberty Company
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Kenneth T. and Eileen L. Norris Foundation
The Louis and Harold Price Foundation
The Sidley Austin Foundation
The Lucille Ellis Simon Foundation
Sony Pictures Entertainment
UCLA Health
U.S. Bank Foundation
U.S. Venture-Schmidt Family Foundation
Special thanks to our donors who wish to remain anonymous.
The Music Center strives to acknowledge all our supporters appropriately.
If your name has been misspelled or omitted from this list in error, please contact the Advancement Office at (213) 972-3333.
$5,000–$9,999
Central City Association of LA KLM Foundation
Morrison & Foerster Foundation
Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts
Sidney Stern Memorial Trust
$1,000–$4,999
Anthem Blue Cross
Barr Foundation
Bessemer Trust Company, N.A.
Burnand-Partridge Foundation
Chu Gooding Architects, Inc.
Friars Charitable Foundation
Justin Construction
M.J. Hellmuth Plumbing, Inc.
Macy’s
MonteCedro
Pro One Stage Productions
SJM Industrial Radio
Sunrise Window Cleaners, Inc.
Thornton Foundation
Whittier Trust Company of California
The Music Center Thanks Its Supporters
THE MUSIC CENTER EXECUTIVE TEAM
Rachel S. Moore
President & CEO
Howard Sherman
Executive Vice President & COO, TMC Ops
William Taylor
Senior Vice President, Finance / CFO
Josephine Ramirez
Executive Vice President, TMC Arts
Susan Avila
Senior Vice President, Advancement
Shelby D. Boagni
Senior Vice President, People & Culture
Bonnie M. Goodman
Senior Vice President, Marketing & Communications
TMC OPS
BUILDING SERVICES
Carlos Acosta Engineer
Eduardo Aguilar Arreola Engineer
Emmanuel Campos Engineer
Ramon DeLeon Assistant Chief
Erik Ekserjyan Mailroom Clerk
Ruben Enriquez Mailroom Clerk
Nick Garcia Engineer
Jose Godinez Engineer
Damon Joseph Engineer
Adrian Martinez Engineer
Adrian Padilla Engineer
Jorge Padilla Engineer
Jose Quintero Landscaping
Alex Romero Lead Engineer
Jose Santillan Lead Engineer
Edgar Vasquez Coordinator
Brandon Villalobos Engineer
FOUNDERS
Daniel Cristante Coordinator
Lisa King Manager
Georgi Nikolov Director
Elia Ortega Coordinator
GUEST RELATIONS
Peggy Alvarez Head Usher
Gabriel Figueroa Head Usher
Abraham Gonzalez Head Usher
Adrian Romero Head Usher
Alvin Broussard Senior Manager, Special Services
Christine Cox House Manager, Ahmanson Theatre
Robert Devis House Manager, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
Omar Garcia Head Usher
Jose Agustin Garibaldi Head Usher
Ruben Lopez Special Services
Coordinator
Alexander Mochizuki Event Staff Coordinator
Seng Neth Head Usher
Steve Olear Manager, Guest Services
Courtney Rabena Head Usher
Jose L. Rivas Head Usher
Santa Roman-Garcia Head Usher
Carolyn Van Brunt Vice President
Jeanice Williams Coordinator, Tours & Special Events
Demetra Willis Head Usher
OPERATIONS ADMINISTRATION
Carol Zamora Executive Assistant
PRODUCTION
Shawn Anderson Head Carpenter, Ahmanson Theatre
Shane Anderson Head Flyman, Ahmanson Theatre
Jared Batty Head Electric, Ahmanson Theatre
Jason Clark Director, Production
Marcus Conroy Head Electrician, Walt Disney Concert Hall
Timothy Conroy Head Carpenter, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
Emmet Kaiser Head Carpenter, Mark Taper Forum
Ryan Lebetsamer Head Electric, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
Christian Lee Head Audio/Video,
Mark Taper Forum
Scott Lucas Head Property, Ahmanson Theatre
Charlie Miledi Head Carpenter, Walt Disney Concert Hall
Katie Miller Production Manager
John Phillips Head Property, Walt Disney Concert Hall
Lisa Quang Senior Production Coordinator
Mary Romero Head Property, Mark Taper Forum
Lee Smilek Head Wardrobe
Robert Smith Head Audio/Video, Ahmanson Theatre
Aaron Staubach Head Electrician, Ahmanson Theatre
Kevin Wapner Head Audio/Video, Walt Disney Concert Hall
SCHEDULING & EVENTS
Liliana Gonzalez Senior Event Operations Manager
Jenny Calvo Mackay Events Operations Coordinator
Marisol Moro Garcia Scheduling & Lease Events Administrator
Colin Perkins Lease Events Manager
Felipe Roque Events Operations Coordinator
Sharon Stewart Director
Ken Talley Senior Scheduling Administrator
Jessica Vad Event Operations Coordinator
SECURITY MANAGEMENT & ADMINISTRATION
Brenda Hernandez Commander FSD
Steven Magasis Manager. Occupational Health & Safety
Bedros Ohanian Director, Security & Life Safety
Scott Pollack Commander, Events Operation Group
Vivian Sanchez Adjutant
Gonzalo Silva Assistant Director of Security
Edward Too Commander, Field Services
Curtis Vanterpool Logistics and Scheduling Manager
THE BLUE RIBBON
Suzy Boyett Director
Cinda Rosenberg Senior Coordinator
TMC ARTS
Julia Diamond Vice President
CIVIC STRATEGIES, PARTNERSHIPS & IMPACT
Caroline Chang Program Manager
Letitia Fernandez Ivins Senior Director
Cristina Lucio Program Manager
Victoria Perera Rojas Associate Director, Evaluation & Learning
DANCE & DANCING PROGRAMS
Martin Wechsler Senior Advisor
DIGITAL INNOVATION
Kamal Sinclair Senior Director
Beata Calinska Associate Director
EDUCATION/SCHOOLS AND NEIGHBORHOODS
Keith Wyffels Associate Vice President
Patrice Cantarelli Associate Director, School Programs
Ebony Ruffin Manager, Professional Development
Monk Turner Manager, The Music Center On Tour
Sydney Ko Coordinator
Vincent Lopez Coordinator
Juan Sanchez School Programs Coordinator
Jill Sowell Program Manager
GLORIA MOLINA GRAND PARK
Cristabel Campos Ruiz Marketing Manager
Cara Delaporta Lease Events & Location Coordinator
Adam Epelbaum Senior Digital
Marketing Coordinator
Brian Foreman Production Manager
Robert Gonzalez Director
Anna Morrison Events Promotion Coordinator
Angela Tsai Business Manager
Carolina Xique Program Coordinator
PRODUCING & CONCERTS
Taylor Comen Senior Director, Producing
U-Jung Jung Coordinator
Patrick Traylor Producing Production Manager
SPOTLIGHT & CREATIVE WORKFORCE READINESS
Jeri Gaile Fredric Roberts Director, Spotlight program
Monique Carroll Program Manager
Corisa Moreno Program Manager
Jordan Adelman Coordinator
BUSINESS RESOURCES
ADVANCEMENT
Belby Aguillon Manager, Advancement Business Operations
Serena Bernolak Director, Events and Stewardship
Becky Birdsong Director, Legacy Giving
Cheryl Brown Vice President, Advancement
Corinne Burch Coordinator, Advancement Services
Rob Carson Director of Individual Giving and Center Dance Arts
Hillary Chisum Senior Director, Advancement & Board Relations
Jason Frazier Assistant Director, Corporate Giving
Erica Goodrich Executive Assistant, Advancement
Veronica E. Green Director, Annual Giving
Rosalind Grush Assistant Director of Grants & Philanthropy
Maggie Kolina Coordinator, Major Gifts
Mayra Medina Gift Administration Manager
Lorena Panfilo Manager, Prospect Development
Jennifer Rivera Major Gifts Officer
Laurie A. Selik Senior Director, Institutional Giving
Scott Vandrick Senior Director, Annual Giving & Stewardship
FINANCE
Michelle Alfonso Controller
Laura Canon Accounts Payable Specialist
Jazmine Centeno Payroll Clerk
Maria Justo Clerk, Accounts Payable / Accounts Receivable
Andrew Kayano Manager, General Accounting and Financial Systems
Jane Lin Senior Payroll Specialist
David Modisett Manager, Financial Planning
Kirman Ng Staff Accountant
Cindy Rauch Manager, Accounts Payable /Accounts Receivable
Sandra Wright Director of Payroll Services
PEOPLE & CULTURE
Victoria McElroy Director of HR
Victor Ruiz HR Generalist
MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
Danielle Bliss Coordinator, Ticketing & Marketing Strategy
Gil Diaz Manager, Media Relations
Lisa Ducore Assistant Vice President, Marketing and Brand Communications
Stephanie Kao Manager, Web Content and Digital Analytics
Hillary Litherland Manager, Social Media & Content Creation
Mike Mancillas Manager, Digital Programming
Daniela Messarina Marketing & Communications Manager
Sofia Saenz Coordinator, Marketing & Brand Communications
Marielle Shrock Marketing Specialist
Melissa Tan Assistant Vice President, Ticketing and Marketing Strategy
PRESIDENT’S OFFICE
Susan Hutcheon Executive Assistant to the President & CEO
CREATIVE SUPPORT
Keith & Co. Graphic Design
The stage crew, wardrobe crew and box office staff are represented by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States of America and Canada, AFL-CIO, CKC, Local Numbers 33, 768 and 857, respectively. The House Managers employed by The Music Center are represented by the Association of Theatrical Press Agents and Managers.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES
Support from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors plays an invaluable role in the successful operation of The Music Center.
LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT
As a steward of The Music Center of Los Angeles County, we recognize that we occupy land originally and still inhabited and cared for by the Tongva, Tataviam, Serrano, Kizh and Chumash Peoples. We honor and pay respect to their elders and descendants — past, present and emerging — as they continue their stewardship of these lands and waters. We acknowledge that settler colonization resulted in land seizure, disease, subjugation, slavery, relocation, broken promises, genocide and multigenerational trauma. This acknowledgment demonstrates our responsibility and commitment to truth, healing and reconciliation and to elevating the stories, culture and community of the original inhabitants of Los Angeles County.
We are grateful to have the opportunity to live and work on these ancestral lands. We are dedicated to growing and sustaining relationships with Native peoples and local tribal governments, including (in no particular order) the:
• Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians
• Gabrielino Tongva Indians of California Tribal Council
• Gabrieleno/Tongva San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians
• Gabrieleño Band of Mission Indians-Kizh Nation
• San Manuel Band of Mission Indians
• San Fernando Band of Mission Indians
Janice Hahn Supervisor, Fourth District
Hilda L. Solis Supervisor, First District
Lindsey P. Horvath Chair, Third District
Kathryn Barger Supervisor, Fifth District
Holly J. Mitchell Supervisor, Second District
(From left to right)
This acknowledgment, however, is empty without our efforts to counter the effects of structures that have long enabled injustice against Native Americans. The Music Center is committed to working with First Peoples to build and sustain partnerships and grow collaborations that engage and respect the knowledge, expertise and agency of First Peoples, past, present and future. The Music Center strives to be a champion of the arts in Los Angeles for all people. We are listening, learning, unlearning, and will evolve in the work ahead.
To learn more about the First Peoples of Los Angeles County, please visit the Los Angeles City/County Native American Indian Commission website at lanaic.lacounty.gov