Vanessa Reed has become the first woman to be appointed as chief executive of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society, which includes the award-winning Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and associated ensembles and choirs, a music learning and talent development programme and Liverpool Philharmonic Hall.
Reed will be leaving her current position as New Music USA’s president & CEO to take on her new position in Liverpool in May. Since joining New Music USA in 2019 after a decade of leading the PRS Foundation, Reed has launched an array of new initiatives that expanded the company’s scope and addressed inequities in the field. Seven months into her tenure, she led the organisation’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic by working with a team of artists and composers, including flautist Claire Chase and composer Marcos Balter, to deliver the New Music Solidarity Fund, which provided over $500,000 of emergency grant funding to 1,140 artists in need.
In her position at New Music USA, Reed worked with NEA Jazz Master Terri Lyne Carrington and the Berklee Institute Of Jazz and Gender Justice to launch Next Jazz Legacy to expand opportunities for the next generation, raising $2.5 million from the Mellon Foundation for the programme. She also expanded New Music USA’s national reach with programmes such as Amplifying Voices, New Music Inc and the New Music Creator Fund.
“Vanessa’s leadership of New Music USA has been exemplary,” said Joe Walker, chair of New Music USA’s board of directors. “She has raised the profile of our organisation across the US, refreshed our vision and priorities, increased our resources for artists and enabled us to build a bi-coastal board. All of us at New Music USA admire her energy and determination. We wish her the best in her new role.”
Reena Esmail, composer and New Music USA’s artist Char Emeritus, added: “I am so inspired by Vanessa’s passionate advocacy for composers. In her time at the helm, New Music USA has expanded its funding programmes to include jazz and film music, and to connect composers from these genres to one another, both nationally and through city-specific events and programmes. In her five and a half years of incredible leadership, she has made our musical community richer and more interconnected.”
Reed commented: “Leading New Music USA for the past five and half years has been one of the most fulfilling and stimulating experiences of my life. I have been inspired by the dedication, passion, and creativity of everyone involved in our dynamic music community – from our board, staff, councils, and advisors, to the extraordinary creators, performers, and leaders I’ve had the honour to support. My commitment to New Music USA is based on my longstanding belief in the critical role that specialist resources like this play in the wider arts ecology. I look forward to following the next chapter of this important organisation and I am extremely grateful to everyone I’ve worked with for their trust, and for all the music they’ve enabled me to discover.”
