Phoenix Chorale Names Jen Rogers President & CEO

The Phoenix Chorale's Board of Directors has announced the appointment of Jen Rogers as its new President & CEO. Ms. Rogers accepted the position following her highly successful tenure last season leading the organization as its Interim President & CEO.

During that time, Jen implemented a new business model and operational structure for the 58-year old organization, posted record ticket sales and fundraising activities for the 2015/16 Season, and recently launched its ambitious 2016/17 Season.

"As we began to think about finding a new President & CEO for the Chorale, it became clear that Jen was the best and obvious choice," said April Jones, Chair of the Phoenix Chorale Board of Directors. "She has a deep passion for the Phoenix Chorale, and her involvement in the community combined with her innate ability to develop partnerships and raise awareness for our organization is a powerful formula. She has made a huge impact on the day-to-day operations, our long-term strategic planning, and the national and local awareness of the Chorale. She is recognized as a true leader in the choral community and music community, and we are thrilled she has accepted the position on a permanent basis."

Beginning with the Phoenix Chorale in 2008, Jen's primary role was to focus on marketing and branding the Chorale's concerts and recordings, improving the patron experience, and expanding community engagement activities. As Vice President of Marketing & Communications, her progressive approach resulted in a 99% increase in overall ticket sales, with a 157% increase in subscriptions and 79% increase in single tickets. Her outreach initiatives have ranged from Free Open Rehearsals during the First Friday Artwalk to concert trailers, flash mobs, film screenings, a world-wide streaming event and more.

Under her guidance, the Phoenix Chorale has become a leader in the choral music industry for patron engagement through social media and technology, and has developed new industry models for marketing and fundraising. Her innovative methods for record promotion have resulted in top selling albums for the Chorale, with over twenty weeks on the Billboard charts and the best-selling album in North America in 2012 for their label, Chandos Records.

"Jen is such an advocate for choral music and is so forward-thinking when it comes to ways to develop new audiences and engage the community. To find a partner, who feels the power of this music to her very core, who understands artists and the special relationship they have with audiences, and one who is an exceptional communicator and organizer..that is a rare combination. I commend the Board of Directors for selecting such a quintessential professional to lead the organization." - Charles Bruffy, Artistic Director

A champion and advisor for many non-profit performing arts organizations across the Valley, Jen currently chairs the Music Committee for Roosevelt Row CDC and serves as an Associate Director for The Nash, Arizona's jazz education center. She also regularly advises Rosie's House: A Music Academy for Children along with several area choral organizations including the Phoenix Girls Chorus, choral ensemble Helios, and Orpheus Male Chorus of Phoenix. Jen was recently accepted into the 2016/17 Class of Valley Leadership, metro Phoenix's premiere institute for community leaders.

"Year after year, this family of singers, our staff and our board continue to amaze me. I'm so energized by the music community in Phoenix - and I'm continually impressed by the breathtaking quality of our singers and Charles's incredible artistic vision. The dedication we feel from our audiences, volunteers, board, and staff, is inspiring to me every day. It is a privilege to be a part of the Chorale's legacy. I'm so excited to see what we do next," saidJen Rogers, President & CEO.

About Jen Rogers

Jen Rogers joined the staff of the GRAMMY®-winning Phoenix Chorale in 2008. Previously, she kept a busy consulting schedule working with local organizations and national music acts including attending the 2013 GRAMMY® Awards as publicist for the Kansas City Chorale and managing the GRAMMY®-nominated jazz quintet, Kneebody. For four years, Jen was the founding director of the Phoenix Creative Music Movement, an experimental music series presented in art galleries in downtown Phoenix. Jen also spent three and a half years in the Marketing and Public Relations department of The Phoenix Symphony and holds a degree in Arts Management from Northern Arizona University where she also studied saxophone and music education.

About the Phoenix Chorale:

The GRAMMY®-winning Phoenix Chorale, under the direction of Artistic Director Charles Bruffy, is regarded as one of the finest choral ensembles in North America. What began in 1958 as a small study group of singers became a fully professional choir in 1992 made up of Arizona residents: highly educated and trained singers, teachers and professionals. In 2004, the Phoenix Chorale became the first North American choir to record for the U.K.'s Chandos Records and since then, the Chorale's recordings have earned a total of ten GRAMMY® nominations and three GRAMMY® wins. The Phoenix Chorale is ensemble-in-residence at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in downtown Phoenix and is sponsored in part through grants and support from the Arizona Commission on the Arts, Music at Trinity, Central Sound, Mesa Community College and the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture.

The Phoenix Chorale's 2016/17 Season will open in November with the 50th Anniversary of Duke Ellington's Sacred Concert (Nov. 12-13), A Chorale Christmas: Silent Night (Dec. 16-20), Coro y Guitarra (Mar. 3-5), and Mix Tape (Apr. 28-30). More information is at www.phoenixchorale.org

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