Visit to the BSO
The Art World class, lead by Professor Lanfranco Aceti, Director of the Department of Arts Administration, will be visiting the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO), as guest of Leslie Wu Foley, Associate Director of Audience Development, on Monday, April 23, 2018, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Symphony Hall.
The visit at the BSO, thanks to Mrs. Wu Foley’s support, will provide the opportunity for the students of the Arts Admin program of BU to experience the inner workings of one of the most prestigious world leading orchestras. What are the practices of audience development at the BSO, what does it mean to manage a department within such a historical organization, and what are the possibilities and opportunities to participate in and embrace the mission statement of the BSO?
Featured BSO guest speakers:
Evelyn Barnes, Chief Financial Officer
Ryan Losey, Director of Foundation and Government Relations
Ellen Rogoz, Marketing Manager
Eric Valliere, Assistant Artistic Administrator
There are limited spots open for all Arts Administration students, alumni, and faculty. If you are not an Art World student, please RSVP by Wednesday, April 18, via email to the Arts Administration Office.
Biographies
Leslie Wu Foley is a seasoned non-profit professional with a demonstrated history of working in the performing arts industry, arts education, and community engagement. Highly experienced in change management, strategic planning, and program development for both small organizations and large nonprofit brands. Currently working at the Boston Symphony Orchestra she is developing and implementing new programs aimed at increasing audience engagement, stimulating attendance by new and diverse audiences, and enhancing the concert experience.
Evelyn Barnes is the CFO for the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO). The BSO is dedicated to the making of music consonant with the highest aspiration of the musical art, creating performances and providing education and training programs at the highest level of excellence.
Prior to joining the BSO she served as Chief Financial and Administrative Officer for City Year, a national education-focused nonprofit organization. Throughout her career she has been employed in senior finance positions with large nonprofit organizations across the country, including the CFO at The Community Builders and the YWCA in Boston, and the Midnight Mission and the Los Angeles Community Design Center in Los Angeles, California. In 2010, she received the prestigious “CFO of the Year” award from the Boston Business Journal.
Ryan Losey joined the staff of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in September 2005 as Manager of Foundation Support and was promoted to Director for Foundation and Government Relations in September 2007. He develops and executes all foundation and government relations strategies for the institution. During his tenure, he has raised more than $30,000,000 from foundation and government granting agencies for the BSO’s various artistic, professional development and educational programs. Mr. Losey also oversees lobbying and tactical planning efforts with federal, state and local legislators and agencies on behalf of the BSO. In his role, Mr. Losey works closely with BSO Board and Senior Management and with elected officials and their staff.
Prior to joining the BSO, Mr. Losey served as the Director of Development for the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras for seven years. Mr. Losey earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from the University of California at Davis, and his Master of Arts degree in Musicology from Harvard University.
Ellen Rogoz currently serves as the Marketing Manager at the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and volunteers as the Marketing Director for TedX Cambridge. An experienced Marketing Strategist with a demonstrated history of working in the lifestyle, e-commerce,and travel industry, Ellen is skilled in Content, Social, E-mail, SEO and Digital Marketing Strategy. She previously held roles in marketing and content strategy at the British Tourism Board and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. Ellen graduated from Bowdoin College in 2012 with a degree in Art History and Psychology.
Eric Valliere has been the BSO’s Assistant Artistic Administrator since February 2016, developing new partnerships with local educational and cultural institutions, largely relating to the BSO’s contemporary music programming.
Before joining the BSO, Eric was Executive Director for Symphony NH from 2005-2016, during which time the orchestra commissioned nearly a dozen new works (as part of its “Ripple Effect” project) and gave World and NH premieres of several others.
From 2001-2005, Eric served simultaneously as Director of San Francisco’s Noe Valley Chamber Music series, Executive Director of Volti (a professional chamber choir specializing in contemporary music), and Managing Director of the BluePrint Project (a contemporary music series featuring students, faculty and guest artists at the San Francisco Conservatory). While at Volti, he developed the Choral Arts Laboratory, a nationally-recognized residency program for gifted young composers of vocal music (now entering its fifteenth year). At Noe Valley Chamber Music, he instituted the Noe Valley (h)EARS initiative, which brought contemporary and/or rarely heard music to each of the series’ programs.
For several years, Eric was a frequent guest contributor to andante.com, the San Francisco Classical Voice (sfcv.org), and classicstoday.com. He earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in composition from the New England Conservatory, where he also taught undergraduate music history and served as Administrative Director for the Provost. He holds a B.A. in Drama from Tufts, and currently serves as a volunteer for the Bubs Foundation, which assists public schools in the Boston area who wish to bring contemporary a cappella music to their students.