Lincoln Center 2013/14 Annual Report
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Lincoln Center 2013/14 More than 5,000 people came to Hearst Plaza for the world premiere performances of John Luther Adams’s Sila: The Breath of the World, a commission for Lincoln Center Out of Doors and the Mostly Mozart Festival in the Paul Milstein Pool and Terrace, Laurie M. Tisch Wallpaper Illumination Lawn, and Barclays Capital Grove. B Lincoln Center Lincoln Center 1 to prepare, certify, and place much-needed, highly qualified music, dance, theater, and visual arts teachers in New York City’s public schools. Helping families engage with the performing arts is a long-term investment both in their own lives, and in the future of Lincoln Center; the young families we reach today are more likely to fill our halls in years ahead. This summer’s Lincoln Center Out of Doors season, with more than 100 events, was rich in family-friendly productions and free activities. Multiple generations enjoyed the Deep Roots of Rock & Roll concert and Baby Loves Disco, a dance party for toddlers and their parents. These programs were offered free, along with weekly Target® Free Thursdays and monthly Meet the Artist Saturdays in the David Rubenstein Atrium. We will be launching Family-Linc and other initiatives in the coming months. We are also expanding our use of digital technology to connect Lincoln Center with an ever-widening audience. During Lincoln Center Out of Doors, a quarter of a million people enjoyed our live concerts, and tens of thousands more watched our live streams of the memorial tribute concert to Pete and Toshi Seeger, and of performances by Jed Bernstein and Katherine Farley Dear Friends, artists like Cassandra Wilson and Rosanne Cash. We look forward to significantly Every year brings its own set of special Lincoln Center moments, and this past year they increasing the amount of digital content available to viewers, as well as building a certainly included these: mobile-centric website and fully digitizing our campus. — Renée and Robert Belfer Music Director Louis Langrée marked the downbeat for the This year is also a time to look back with pride at another successful season of Live opening of the 48th Mostly Mozart Festival and the excitement in Avery Fisher Hall From Lincoln Center, the iconic series on PBS that brings the best of Lincoln Center was palpable; performances to a national audience. Each program reinforces Lincoln Center’s role — Hundreds of children and their parents in Brooklyn and Queens got their first as the world’s preeminent performing arts center. We look forward to celebrating the exposure to Lincoln Center in their neighborhood libraries by watching HD broadcasts 40th anniversary of this award-winning series in the coming year. of past performances; — The stylized drama and compelling stories of Kabuki theater transcended time and Lincoln Center Festival once again brought major performances featuring great artists culture in Lincoln Center Festival’s presentation of Japan’s Heisei Nakamura-za troupe; from around the world to New York this summer. This treasury of talent included the — The adventurous JACK Quartet performed in complete darkness during the 340 members of the Bolshoi Ballet, Opera, Orchestra, and Chorus, who combined White Light Festival; forces for a two-week run at Lincoln Center. The Sydney Theatre Company brought us — LaGuardia High School students relaxed on the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Lawn a memorable production of Jean Genet’s The Maids, starring renowned actresses Cate using free Wi-Fi; Blanchett and Isabelle Huppert. Other highlights are detailed in this annual report. — The smooth transition of leadership as Jed Bernstein became Lincoln Center’s World class programming, of course, is not produced without cost. In the months ninth president. ahead, we will be intensifying our search for new corporate partnerships that leverage It is all part of the Lincoln Center experience, an experience as varied as the performing the power of the Lincoln Center brand. Lincoln Center Global, our international arts themselves, and one that continues to reach more people in geographically diverse consulting practice, helps raise additional dollars beyond the generous support of our locations in new ways. Reaffirming the power of the arts by making great art available donors. This practice arose from our mission to sustain, encourage, and promote the for all has never been more critical. We are using expanded arts education, outdoor performing arts around the globe. festivals, family-oriented programs, and other creative options to get people of all ages and backgrounds excited about how the arts and Lincoln Center can enrich their Given the dynamic changes always underway within the arts and within this great lives. While this excellence goes on year-around on our 16-acre campus, we are also institution, we know the Lincoln Center experience will continue to expand and evolve enthusiastically reaching out to other New York City neighborhoods with multifaceted in the years ahead. But our mission of providing the best possible performances and family and community-based programs. At the same time, we delight in presenting the arts education will also continue, stronger than ever. superb live performances that for many are the heart of Lincoln Center. Confidence in the future is rooted in the ongoing support from our donors, our Our physical heart is the magnificently transformed campus. From the openness of the friends in the public sector, our superb performers, dedicated staff, and the countless new architecture and landscaping to the visitor amenities, the new campus welcomes not members of the Lincoln Center family over its 55-year history. It also reflects the only concert-goers, but families, neighbors, students, and visitors from around the world. outstanding contributions of Reynold Levy, who stepped down as president at the end of January after 12 years of service. We thank him, and all of you, for being part of the Arts education—bringing the arts to students of all ages, anywhere, anytime—is wonderful community known as Lincoln Center. embedded in Lincoln Center’s DNA. Over the course of more than four decades, Lincoln Center Education (LCE) has reached more than 20 million students, educators, parents, Sincerely, and teachers from around the world. Each year, thousands of students come to our campus for classes and for special experiences, like a backstage visit with members of the Bolshoi Ballet. We are extremely proud that for the first time this summer, LCE partnered with New York City’s Department of Education and Hunter College to launch the Lincoln Center Scholars Alternative Certification Program. This is a fast-track initiative Katherine Farley Jed Bernstein Chair President 2 Lincoln Center Lincoln Center 3 Lincoln Center Presents 6 Overview 24 Engages Contents26 Educates 28 Connects 30 Thanks 32 Annual support 35 Financial statement 44 Board of Directors 48 This summer, the outdoor plazas of Lincoln Center were alive with free performances for enthusiastic audiences. 4 Lincoln Center Lincoln Center 5 The sheer diversity of the 2013 –14 season showcased the unparalleled range of presentations that can only be found at Lincoln Center. Great Performers rolled out a wealth of outstanding experiences for audiences. Enthusiastic concertgoers chose from ensembles that featured a New York premiere with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under the vibrant baton of Gustavo Dudamel, and Lincoln Center pianist Emanuel Ax with the London Symphony Orchestra led by Bernard Haitink, as well as chamber music by the Emerson String Quartet with its new cellist Paul Watkins, and virtuoso piano recitals by Murray Perahia, and the seldom-heard Brazilian master, Nelson Freire. Music lovers also flocked to a sold-out art song film series that included rare footage of such extraordinary artists as Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Christa Ludwig. American Songbook continued to widen its reach with a free opening night presents concert in the David Rubenstein Atrium. The 2014 season featured appearances by Broadway’s Porgy and Bess baritone Norm Lewis, country star Jason Isbell, and Tony Award winner Patina Miller in the stunning Appel Room, and its concerts from the intimate Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse were live-streamed. The White Light Festival resumed its survey of music’s power to illuminate one’s inner life. Exploring the intersection of Christian, Jewish, and Muslim traditions, Jordi Savall brought his ensemble to Alice Tully Hall for the New York premiere of The Cycles of Life. Bach’s own St. Thomas Boys Choir of Leipzig made its first U.S. appearance since the year 2000, and Italian soprano Anna Caterina Antonacci gave the acclaimed U.S. premiere of Era la Notte, a one-woman staged concert portraying passionate 17th- century female characters. Concertgoers again enjoyed mingling with the artists at post-concert White Light Lounges. Midsummer Night Swing took over the dance floor with 15 nights of swing, salsa, hustle, tango, samba, and more under the stars in Damrosch Park. Thousands of happy feet of all ages and backgrounds came together to shimmy, shake, and boogaloo to live music from the best bands to be found. A 1920s vintage fashion costume competition and the Sixth Annual Ambassador Prize Lindy Hop contest were part of the fun, along with the return of the popular after-hours Silent Disco, where music can only be heard through headphones. The Mostly Mozart Festival‘s Renée and Robert Belfer Music Director Louis Langrée led 9 concerts in 2014. Some 35 events enhanced the festival’s broad exploration of its namesake genius with the New York premiere of Mark Morris’s Acis and Galatea, world- class violinists Christian Tetzlaff and Joshua Bell, and a focus on the music of Handel, including a performance of his opera Teseo by the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. Lincoln Center Festival 2014 hosted a banner 19th season.