Center Names New VP Of Development

The Center for the Performing Arts has chosen an experienced arts administrator to be its new Vice President of Development.

Michael Pettry has served since 2006 as executive director of the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir, which he guided to national recognition and a six-fold increase in annual revenue and budget.

In March, he will begin overseeing all development and fundraising activities for the Center for the Performing Arts and the Great American Songbook Foundation, permanently affiliated nonprofit organizations based at the Palladium concert hall in Carmel. His priorities will include cultivating individual and institutional financial support and forging relationships nationwide to enhance the resources, visibility and impact of the two organizations.

"Michael's experience and skill set are ideal for this vital position in our operation," said Jeffrey C. McDermott, President/CEO of the Center and the Foundation. "He knows music, he understands our mission and he has a great perspective on the regional and national landscape of arts funding and philanthropy."

In his current post, Pettry has produced special events, managed domestic and international donor cultivation tours and coordinated national and regional television broadcasts. He is a member of The Recording Academy and president of the Indianapolis Consortium of Arts Administrators.

He recently was named to the Indianapolis Business Journal's 2018 Forty Under 40 list of rising local professionals. Among other honors, he was selected for the 2016 class of the Stanley K. Lacy Executive Leadership Series and was a 2017 finalist for Indy's Best and Brightest.

A native of Indiana, Pettry holds a bachelor's degree in music performance from Ball State University and a master's degree in music conducting from Butler University.

About the Center for the Performing Arts

The mission of the nonprofit Center for the Performing Arts is to welcome, engage, inspire and transform through compelling performing arts experiences in a world-class environment. The Center presents and hosts hundreds of events each year on its campus in Carmel, Indiana, which includes a 1,600-seat concert hall, the Palladium; a 500-seat proscenium theater, the Tarkington; and the black-box Studio Theater. The campus houses the affiliated Great American Songbook Foundation and provides space and support services for six resident companies: Actors Theatre of Indiana, Civic Theatre, Carmel Symphony Orchestra, Central Indiana Dance Ensemble, Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre and Indiana Wind Symphony. The Center also provides educational programming for people of all ages. More information is available at TheCenterPresents.org.

About the Great American Songbook Foundation

The mission of the Great American Songbook Foundation, founded in 2007 by five-time Grammy Award nominee Michael Feinstein, is to inspire and educate by celebrating the Great American Songbook - the timeless standards of pop, jazz, Broadway and Hollywood. Headquartered at the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, Indiana, the Foundation advances this rich legacy by curating physical artifacts of its creators, performers and publishers; operating a multimedia exhibit gallery; overseeing the Songbook Hall of Fame; offering programs for the public and research opportunities for scholars and artists; and providing educational opportunities for student musicians, including the annual Songbook Academy summer intensive. The Foundation is a Cultural Affiliate of the Los Angeles-based Grammy Museum. More information is available at www.TheSongbook.org.

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