Present Music
Press Release

Present Music Announces Executive Director for 35th Season

Meaghan Heinrich brings over ten years of experience in non-profit arts management to Present Music.

By - Jul 13th, 2016 11:45 am
Meaghan Heinrich. Photo by JBE Photography  courtesy of Present Music.

Meaghan Heinrich. Photo by JBE Photography courtesy of Present Music.

(Milwaukee, Wis.) Present Music announces the appointment of Meaghan Heinrich as its new executive director starting July 15. Ms. Heinrich replaces managing director Chad Piechocki who plans to become an independent producer of music and theater projects in Milwaukee.

Meaghan Heinrich brings over ten years of experience in non-profit arts management to Present Music, most recently as Director of Conservatory Connections for the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. Previously, she was Manager of Learning Programs and Community Engagement for The Cleveland Orchestra, where she continues to present guest workshops and pre-concert lectures. As the first full-time Education Director of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Ms. Heinrich spearheaded the development and implementation of a strategic plan for new education programs, including the creation of the Alabama Symphony Youth Orchestra and composer-in-residence programs with Paul Lansky, Avner Dorman and Edgar Meyer.

Ms. Heinrich holds degrees in oboe performance from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (BM) and Rice University (MM). As an oboist and teaching artist, she spent four years (two as Co-Artistic Director) touring nationally with the multi-disciplinary ensemble Tales & Scales, including appearances on family concerts with the Dallas Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Oregon Symphony, and Louisville Orchestra. She performs regularly with orchestras in the greater Milwaukee area, and is a frequent guest speaker for the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s “Meet the Music” pre-concert talks.

“I am immensely excited to work with Artistic Director Kevin Stalheim, along with the spectacular musicians and forward-thinking Board of Present Music in their 35th season. I look forward not only to sharing great new music by today’s most innovative composers with our audiences, but also developing engaging and participatory experiences that bring the joy of creating and composing to people of all ages and backgrounds. The English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams said, “If an art is to live it must spring directly from the life and character of the people where it had its origins.” I believe that the people of Milwaukee are full of life and character and have incredible stories to tell, and by looking to the spirit of our community we can find new and creative ways to tell those stories through music, states Ms. Heinrich.”

Meaghan is a proud resident of Bay View, where she lives with her husband, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra bassoonist Rudi Heinrich, and their two children, Paul and Margie. An avid distance runner, she looks forward to being an official pacer for the 2016 Lakefront Marathon.

Present Music is Milwaukee’s internationally acclaimed new music ensemble. Celebrating 35 years of new music, Present Music commissions, performs, records, and tours the music of living composers. In the past quarter century, more than 55 new works, by composers from around the world, have come into existence because of Present Music. Founded by Kevin Stalheim, Present Music works closely with many of the world’s most exciting and significant composers while supporting the talents of emerging voices. It nurtures the next generation of composers through its education program, the Creation Project.

Present Music is a member of the United Performing Arts Fund, which provides major financial support. This season is supported by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional support provided by CAMPAC and by the generosity of foundations, corporations and individuals. PM has won the ASCAP/Chamber Music America’s Adventurous Programming Award an unprecedented six times and can be heard on nine compact disk recordings on the Argo, Albany, Aoede, Northeastern, Naxos and Innova labels. Present Music engages artists and audiences in imaginative and provocative experiences with new music through ensemble performance, education and commissioning.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.

Leave a Reply

You must be an Urban Milwaukee member to leave a comment. Membership, which includes a host of perks, including an ad-free website, tickets to marquee events like Summerfest, the Wisconsin State Fair and the Florentine Opera, a better photo browser and access to members-only, behind-the-scenes tours, starts at $9/month. Learn more.

Join now and cancel anytime.

If you are an existing member, sign-in to leave a comment.

Have questions? Need to report an error? Contact Us