International Contemporary Ensemble Announces New Board Member and Business and Finance Manager

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR Contact: Katy Salomon | Morahan Arts and Media
katy@morahanartsandmedia.com | 863.660.2214

International Contemporary Ensemble Announces New
Board Member and Business and Finance Manager

Chiwoniso Kaitano Joins the Board of Directors and
Keisha Husain Appointed Business and Finance Manager 

www.iceorg.org 
 

New York, NY (May 20, 2021) — The International Contemporary Ensemble welcomes Chiwoniso Kaitano to its Board of Directors. Chiwoniso is Executive Director of Girl Be Heard, a global NGO that advocates for social change through performing arts and storytelling. Previously, she served as Executive Director of Ifetayo Cultural Arts Academy, a 30 year old Brooklyn-based arts and culture organization. Chiwoniso has long been involved in the arts scene including founding the long-standing literary series TheSALON, and co-founding Africa Redux, a platform that promotes the art, culture and music of Africa.

Chiwoniso “Chi” Kaitano holds a law degree from the London School of Economics and a Masters in International Affairs from Columbia University’s School for International and Public Affairs. She also serves on the Board of Directors of two New York City-based nonprofits, the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music and The Center for Fiction. Originally from Zimbabwe, Chi lives in Brooklyn with her family. Connect with Chi on Twitter @chiwonisok.

Board President Claude Arpels says, “Chiwoniso has worked at the intersection of art, education, and social justice for years, which is a perfect fit for our board. Furthermore, her experience as a nonprofit Executive Director will be a great help to our artist-led organization. We are honored and excited that Chiwoniso has agreed to join the board of the International Contemporary Ensemble.”

The Ensemble has also hired a new Business and Finance Manager, Keisha Husain. Keisha Husain is a wife, mother and self proclaimed “numbers nerd” from Brooklyn, NY. She has spent the majority of her career in administration within the nonprofit sector working for organizations including the Shubert Organization, Kingsborough Community College Performing Arts Center (KPAC), and Concertante Chamber Ensemble. She earned her BA and MBA from Marist College and currently resides with her family in Queens, NY.  

Executive Director Jennifer Kessler says, “We are thrilled to welcome Keisha to our staff team. Keisha brings extensive experience in nonprofit business affairs, accounting, and financial best practices, and is helping shape our internal systems to be much more efficient and effective for the future. She brings a curiosity and dedication to her work ethic that are rare and wonderful qualities to have in a colleague. I speak on behalf of the whole staff when I say that she truly rounds out our team in the best possible ways.” 

About the International Contemporary Ensemble
The International Contemporary Ensemble is an artist collective that is transforming the way music is created and experienced. As performer, curator, and educator, the Ensemble explores how new music intersects with communities across the world. The Ensemble’s 36 members are featured as soloists, chamber musicians, commissioners, and collaborators with the foremost musical artists of our time. Works by emerging composers have anchored the Ensemble’s programming since its founding in 2001, and the group’s recordings and digital platforms highlight the many voices that weave music’s present.

A recipient of the American Music Center’s Trailblazer Award and the Chamber Music America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, the International Contemporary Ensemble was also named the 2014 Musical America Ensemble of the Year. The group currently serves as artists-in-residence at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts’ Mostly Mozart Festival, and previously led a five-year residency at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. The International Contemporary Ensemble was featured at the Ojai Music Festival from 2015 to 2017, and at recent festivals abroad such as gmem-CNCM-marseille and Vértice at Cultura UNAM, Mexico City. Other performance stages have included the Park Avenue Armory, The Stone, ice floes at Greenland’s Diskotek Sessions, and boats on the Amazon River.

OpenICE, made possible with lead funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, offers free concerts and interactive, educational programming wherever the Ensemble performs. As the Ensemble in Residence of the Nokia Bell Labs Experiments in Art and Technology, the International Contemporary Ensemble advances music technology and digital communications as an empowering tool for artists from all backgrounds. Curricular activities include a residency and coursework at the New School College of Performing Arts, along with a summer intensive program, called Ensemble Evolution, where topics of equity, diversity, and inclusion build new bridges and pathways for the future of creative sound practices. Yamaha Artist Services New York is the exclusive piano provider for the Ensemble. Read more at www.iceorg.org and watch over 350 videos of live performances and documentaries at www.digitice.org. 

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