Music Academy Names Shauna Quill as New President and CEO

(August 2023) — The Music Academy, also known as the Music Academy of the West, is delighted to announce the appointment of Shauna Quill, current Executive Director of the New York Youth Symphony (NYYS), as its new President and CEO beginning November 1. Quill succeeds Scott Reed, who served in that capacity for twelve years.

Quill joined NYYS as Executive Director in the fall of 2011, and leaves behind an enviable roster of accomplishments from her time with that institution. These include a Grammy Award for Best Orchestral Performance for the NYYS’s first professional recording; an international touring program; and launching, expanding and developing several new programs, including Musical Theater Songwriting and the Crescendo orchestral program for NYC students ages 10-18. She also built community partnerships and fellowships for NYYS with Interlochen Center for the Arts, Harmony Program, Harlem School of the Arts, and Orchestra of St. Luke’s, in addition to significantly raising the national profile of the organization with performances on CBS Sunday Morning, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and CNN.

Trained as a flutist, Quill was Executive Director of the University of Chicago Presents prior to being named Executive Director of the New York Youth Symphony and has held senior leadership positions at the Aspen Music Festival and School, La Jolla Music Society, and the Herbert Breslin Agency in New York.

Quill says of the new appointment:

“I am thrilled and honored to have been chosen to lead the Music Academy into its next era. I am grateful for the support of the board, faculty and staff with whom I met during this process. Their passion for the arts and arts education perfectly matches my experience in uplifting artists throughout my career. The Music Academy offers transformational opportunities for its fellows and alumni and I cannot wait to further explore the possibilities ahead.”

Quill’s appointment also has a personal significance: NancyBell Coe, who preceded Scott Reed as Music Academy President and CEO, is a longtime mentor Quill once worked under at the Aspen Music Festival & School. She adds: “The symmetry of having an opportunity to build on the manifold achievements of NancyBell, Scott and the MA community is an aspect of the new post I find particularly gratifying.”

Maurice Singer, Chairman of the Music Academy Board of Directors and head of the search committee, says:

“After a very competitive search process with more than 50 qualified applicants, we are thrilled that the board, faculty and administration of the Music Academy have unanimously selected Shauna Quill as our new CEO. We very much look forward to working together to bring her vision for young musicians to a new era of the Music Academy, building on her brilliant track record of success.”

Glenn Dicterow, a longtime teaching artist in orchestral studies and string leadership, agrees:

“Shauna Quill is a charismatic and compelling force in the world of music education. Her vast experience and great success working with young aspiring musicians speaks for itself. Indeed, her reputation as one of the top arts administrators in our country, plus her ten-year history at the helm of the New York Youth Symphony, is extremely impressive. On behalf of the faculty, we very much look forward to welcoming Shauna Quill into our Music Academy family.”

About the Music Academy

Located in Santa Barbara, the Music Academy creates a space where exceptional talent can thrive by encouraging artists to stretch, experiment, improvise, and play. The Music Academy provides artists with the tools they need to become not just great musicians but great leaders.

The Music Academy’s programs are: Sing!, a children’s choir free of charge for all participants that performs with local, national, and international partners; the annual eight-week Summer School & Festival which trains up to 140 fellows ages 18-34 and presents more than 120 performances and events, competitions, and a fully staged opera; the MAX (Music Academy Exchange) partnership with the London Symphony Orchestra; the Innovation Institute’s Alumni Enterprise Awards; and the Mariposa Series of concerts by Academy-affiliated artists. For more information, visit musicacademy.org.

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© 21C Media Group, August 2023