Profile

Thank you to the many people who have been blog contributors to, and readers of ArtsBlog over the years. ArtsBlog has long been a space where we uplifted stories from the field that demonstrated how the arts strengthen our communities socially, educationally, and economically; where trends and issues and controversies were called out; and advocacy tools were provided to help you make the case for more arts funding and favorable arts policies.

As part of Americans for the Arts’ recent Strategic Realignment Process, we were asked to evaluate our storytelling communications platforms and evolve the way we share content. As a result, we launched the Designing Our Destiny portal to explore new ways of telling stories and sharing information, one that is consistent with our longtime practice of, “No numbers without a story, and no stories without a number.”

As we put our energy into developing this platform and reevaluate our communications strategies, we have put ArtsBlog on hold. That is, you can read past blog posts, but we are not posting new ones. You can look to the Designing Our Destiny portal and our news items feed on the Americans for the Arts website for stories you would have seen in ArtsBlog in the past.

ArtsBlog will remain online through this year as we determine the best way to archive this valuable resource and the knowledge you’ve shared here.

As ever, we are grateful for your participation in ArtsBlog and thank you for your work in advancing the arts. It is important, and you are important for doing it.

Dr. Fred Bronstein

Fred Bronstein began his appointment as the first dean of the Peabody Institute in June 2014. Since his arrival, Dean Bronstein has established Peabody’s Breakthrough Plan which focuses the Institute on strategic goals built around four pillars:  excellence, interdisciplinary experiences, innovation, and community connectivity. Under his leadership important new initiatives have been launched around these pillars that include plans to establish a center for Music and Medicine as well as a series of initiatives such as “Peabody Pop-Ups” that serve to connect Peabody directly with the community and provide students with experience in community engagement.  In fall 2017 the Conservatory launched the Breakthrough Curriculum which fully integrates entrepreneurship and artistic citizenship training into the traditional training for which Peabody is renowned.

Prior to Peabody, Fred Bronstein served as president of the St. Louis Symphony, Omaha Symphony, and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. As a performer, Dr. Bronstein toured for eight years and could be heard on New World Records as part of Aequalis, a chamber group he co-founded.  He is an alumnus of Boston University, Manhattan School of Music, and the State University of New York, Stony Brook. In 2005, Boston University’s College of Fine Arts presented him its Alumni Award for Distinguished Service to the Profession.  He has served on the college’s Dean’s Advisory Council and on the university’s Board of Overseers.  Most recently, Fred Bronstein was named by Musical America as one of thirty top “Innovators” in 2016.