We are an entrepreneurial team, passionate about the arts and culture, with diverse backgrounds and experiences.
We are an entrepreneurial team, passionate about the arts and culture, with diverse backgrounds and experiences.
Founding Partner and Managing Director
A native New Yorker, Albert Imperato is a graduate of Stanford University and has worked for more than 30 years in the music and recording industry. Co-founding 21C Media Group in January 2000, he manages the promotion and assists in the career and strategic development of 21C Media Group’s diverse client and artist roster.
Founding Partner and Managing Director
With more than 25 years in the music business, Managing Director Jessica Lustig brings a global perspective to 21C. Clients have included Google, the World Economic Forum, the Global Fund and the World Bank.
Founding Partner and Director of Public Relations
Glenn Petry has worked in the music scene – both promoting and performing – for more than 20 years. He co-founded 21C Media Group in January 2000 and has been the Director of Media Relations since its inception. Glenn developed his interest in promoting classical music while touring the U.S. with the experimental rock band Drunken Boat, after which he became a consultant to the classical music industry for a dozen years.
Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer
Named one of Musical America’s 30 Professionals of the Year in 2017, Sean Michael Gross has spearheaded 21C Media Group’s transformation into a fully integrated digital and public relations agency by pioneering strategies at the cross section of “owned” and “earned” media. Since 2012 he has served alongside 21C’s co-founders as one of its four principal directors, leading initiatives that keep the company and its clients competitive in today’s ever-changing media environment.
Senior Publicist and Editorial Director
Louise Barder was born in England and grew up all over the world (including the Soviet Union, Australia, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Poland), living wherever her diplomat father’s postings took her. After graduating from the University of Exeter (UK) with a BA in Psychology, she began working in the classical music world 30 years ago at Novello & Co., helping composers such as Judith Weir and Richard Rodney Bennett to prepare their new scores for premieres. With Stanley Sadie as an early mentor, Louise worked as an editor on a variety of musical publications, including the Musical Times, the Grove Concise Dictionary of Music and the Grove Dictionary of Opera, Radio Times (the BBC’s house magazine), The Strad magazine, and the music books at Oxford University Press – in both its Oxford and New York offices.
Communications Associate
Elizabeth Fildes is a passionate member of the classical music community. Her experiences as a performing artist and as associate producer on the award-winning musical short film Dichterliebe: Poetlove inspired her love of innovative forms and collaborations that broaden the genre’s reach.
Project Management Associate
Katie Griffin came to 21C as a music-lover and performer with a focus on opera and vocal music. Originally from the Detroit suburb Grosse Pointe, Katie graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 2012 with a degree in vocal performance. While an undergrad she spent her summers as a young artist at the Lyrique-en-Mer Opera Festival in Belle-Île, France, gaining invaluable experience in the music world. She moved to New York City after school and spent two years as a managerial assistant at IMG Artists, where she worked with some of her favorite artists, including Karita Mattila and Lawrence Brownlee.
Account Director
Max Lefer, a native New Yorker, spent his formative years soaking up the culture of his hometown, while fostering a deep passion for music of all genres. Max went on to receive his B.A. in music from Bard College, where he studied composition and jazz saxophone. His professional career includes work in television productions and publicity (public television, network entertainment and sports) and public radio programming and administration.
Project Management Associate
Having studied classical piano from an early age, Michael Lutz has a deep appreciation of classical music. He has enjoyed diverse positions within the music industry, developing and leading press, public relations, and retail/radio/billboard promotions. He has worked for various labels and has been involved with projects ranging from eclectic jazz and electronica to dance and pop.
Digital Strategist, Digital & Creative Media
Sarah Means pursued her interest in vocal and opera music from an early age. A Rutgers University graduate, Sarah studied classical voice and international relations with a focus on the Middle East and France.
Senior Strategist & Design Director, Digital & Creative Media
Adrian’s passion for the arts started at a young age, when she began studying piano and dance of all forms. After graduating from Barnard College with a BA in French Literature and Art History, Adrian worked in the non-profit education field, first for the President of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, then at the Center for Arts Education. At CAE, Adrian worked on arts programs in public schools and gained experience in arts communication and digital media.
Senior Strategist & Operations Director, Digital & Creative Media
A graduate of NYU with degrees in Music Business and Studio Art, Sarah Segner is an avid member and supporter of the performing and visual arts communities. She began playing the violin at the age of 7 and later studied with Philadelphia Orchestra violinist and keyboardist Davyd Booth. Sarah is an active performer, curator, and visual artist, and is passionate about discovering progressive ways to share the arts in our communities. She is also driven to find new and sustainable methods to fund change-making artistic endeavors.
Digital Coordinator, Digital & Creative Media
While growing up in New York City and upstate, Eunu Song developed a passion for bringing together audiences and talent across a variety of musical genres. Eunu studied economics & Asian studies at Cornell University, where she served as the program director for the radio station WVBR-FM and spearheaded alumni and fundraising projects as a violinist in the Cornell Orchestras. She has interned at the 92nd Street Y in its concerts department.
Staff Writer
A London native, Rachel Stadlen’s interests are both musical and literary. Studying the harp from an early age, she attended England’s Purcell School of Music, before graduating with a degree in Twentieth-Century Music from the University of Sussex.
