Home Subscriber Only 5Q Five Questions With: Gillian Friedman Fox

Five Questions With: Gillian Friedman Fox

By

Alexa Gagosz

-

04/16/2021

Gillian Friedman Fox / PBN PHOTO/KATE WHITNEY LUCEY

Gillian Friedman Fox | Executive director, Newport Music Festival 1. Briefly explain your responsibilities within your role at the Newport Music Festival. I am responsible for the artistic vision and direction of the festival, as well as the day-to-day operations, which includes development, community relations, marketing and brand strategy. 2. What are some of your

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Gillian Friedman Fox | Executive director, Newport Music Festival

1. Briefly explain your responsibilities within your role at the Newport Music Festival. I am responsible for the artistic vision and direction of the festival, as well as the day-to-day operations, which includes development, community relations, marketing and brand strategy. 2. What are some of your big-picture goals? I look forward to expanding the festival’s national profile and brand awareness by introducing fresh, exciting and artistically excellent programming each summer. I will launch a new commissioning initiative that celebrates living composers and contemporary chamber music and amplifies the many diverse talented voices creating classical music today. 3. What are some of your ideas to attract a broader audience? The SOLUNA Festival attracted younger and more diverse concert goers to the Dallas Symphony due, in part, to the use of nontraditional venues such as art galleries, warehouses and parks. By staging performances outside of the concert hall, patrons left previously held expectations at the door and experienced the music in new and exciting ways. I hope that by incorporating a few unexpected venues in addition to the beloved mansions, new audiences will feel encouraged to attend. I will also reimagine our branding to reach a wider audience, both demographically and geographically. 4. What lessons did you learn at the Dallas Symphony Orchestra that you will bring to Rhode Island? The DSO is at the center of cultural life in Dallas, serving an integral role in the community at every level. This model will be a blueprint for my time in Newport. By increasing our commitment to the Newport school system and other collaborative community-based projects, we will open ourselves to new audiences. 5. What could the recovery plan for the summer look like? We are committed to welcoming audiences back for live performances this summer in a safe and engaging way. Newport is home to some of the most iconic historic properties in the world, which have hosted the festival’s performances for decades. These Guilded Age mansions have stunning grounds that offer the perfect backdrop for outdoor, socially distanced concerts. Newport is also home to beautiful parks, vineyards and beaches, and we look forward to presenting concerts there as well.