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Press Releases
Rachel Fine Promoted to Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of The Wallis Annenberg Center for The Performing Arts
The Board of Directors of the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, led by Chairman Michael Nemeroff, announced that Rachel Fine has been promoted to Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, having served as the celebrated Beverly Hills venue's Managing Director since November 2015. Also announced was the appointment of Elise Yen as Chief Financial Officer and Director of Administration. The Wallis' 2018/2019 season of groundbreaking produced and presented works in dance, music and theater from locally, nationally and internationally renowned artists and companies, which begins September 21, 2018, marks the third year of programming under the leadership of Fine and Artistic Director Paul Crewes and the sixth for the institution.
"Since joining The Wallis, Rachel's innovative leadership has rooted the organization firmly and helped establish it as a destination performing arts campus," said Nemeroff. "Recognized widely as a premier arts executive, she has played a critical role, along with our visionary artistic director Paul Crewes, in solidifying The Wallis' identity as a major cultural player in Southern California and beyond."
"I relish the ongoing opportunity to make significant impact from my post at this dynamic and distinctive new performing arts center," says Fine, "I look forward to furthering its mission and increasing its relevance."
Fine draws upon a 20-year career in the arts as a versatile administrator, educator, and fundraiser, as well as a professional classical musician. She served previously as Executive Director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) and the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, where she helped found the Young Men’s Ensemble, a rare choral group for young men with changing voices. Fine has held other leadership positions at The Juilliard School, Santa Fe Opera, and the Aspen Music Festival, as well as at the renowned San Francisco-based period ensemble Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. She is a founding mentor of the Los Angeles Emerging Arts Leaders’ mentorship program, as well as a 2001-2002 John F. Kennedy Center Arts Management Fellow. Fine also currently serves as an Associate Consultant for the DeVos Institute of Arts Management. An accomplished pianist, Fine studied at the Eastman School of Music and the University of California, Irvine, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in music. She also attended graduate school in musicology at Yale University. She served on the Board of Directors of the Association of California Symphony Orchestras (ACSO) for six years and the Board of Councilors for the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music, where she taught a graduate course in executive arts leadership. Fine and her husband, Christopher Hawthorne, Chief Design Officer for the City of Los Angeles, have two children who love the arts.
Yen comes to The Wallis from New Roads School in Santa Monica, home of the Moss Theater, where she served since 2012 as Chief Financial and Operations Officer. Earlier, she worked as a finance and operations consultant in Orange County and Controller for American Ballet Theatre in New York. Yen received her MBA from New York University as well as a Master of Science in Accounting from The American University. She is an avid supporter of ballet and the performing arts.
About the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts:
Since opening its doors in October 2013, The Wallis has produced or presented more than 250 dance, theatre, opera, classical music, cinema and family programs to an ever-expanding audience. Located in the heart of Beverly Hills, California, The Wallis brings audiences world-class theater, dance and music, performed by many of the world's most talented and sought-after artists. Featuring eclectic programming that mirrors the diverse landscape of Los Angeles and its notability as the entertainment capital of the world, The Wallis offers original and revered works from across the U.S. and around the globe. The mission of The Wallis is to create, present and celebrate unique performing arts events and educational programs that reflect the rich cultural diversity of our community. Nominated for 48 Ovation Awards, seven L.A. Drama Critic's Circle Awards and the recipient of six architectural awards since opening in 2013. The Wallis is a breathtaking 70,000-square-foot venue that celebrates the classic and the modern and was designed by Zoltan E. Pali, FAIA, of Studio Pali Fekete architects. The building features the restored, original 1933 Beverly Hills Post Office (on the National Register of Historic Places) that serves as the theater's dramatic yet welcoming lobby, and houses the 150-seat Lovelace Studio Theater, GRoW at The Wallis: A Space for Arts Education (a gift of Gregory Annenberg Weingarten and Family and the Annenberg Foundation) and the contemporary 500-seat, state-of-the art Bram Goldsmith Theater. Together, these structures embrace the city's history and its future, creating a performing arts destination for L.A.-area visitors and residents alike. For more information about The Wallis, please visit: TheWallis.org.
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