The Harris Theater Names Abby McCormick O'Neil Board Chairman

The Harris Theater for Music and Dance is pleased to announce that Abby McCormick O'Neil was elected Chairman of the Harris Theater Board of Trustees today at the Theater's annual meeting. Ms. O'Neil succeeds Joan Harris, who served as Chairman for the past six years.

New Harris Theater Officers Elected

The Harris Theater Board of Trustees also elected the following new officers for a one year term:

Abby McCormick O'Neil-Chairman
David C. Blowers - Executive Vice Chair
James L. Alexander - Vice Chair
Caryn Harris - Vice Chair
Alexandra Nichols - Vice Chair
Mary Kay Sullivan - Vice Chair
Christine N. Evans Kelly - Treasurer
Ricardo T. Rosenkranz - Secretary
Michael Tiknis-President and Managing Director

Past chairmen of the Harris Theater include Sandra Guthman (1993-2004) and Joan Harris (2004-2010).

New Trustees Join Harris Board

Louise B. Frank and Patrick M. Sheahan, Ph.D. were welcomed today as new members of the Harris Theater Board of Trustees. Biographies of Ms. Frank and Dr. Sheahan are included below.

Benefit Concert to honor Joan Harris

At today's Harris Theater Board of Trustees meeting, it was announced that the Harris Theater will present Fanfare for an Uncommon Woman: A Celebration of Joan Harris on Her Birthday, a benefit concert honoring this "uncommon woman" whose philanthropic legacy will live on for generations. A separate press release will announce details of this event.

RelatEd Harris Theater Board of Trustees Biographies

For more than three decades, the vision, advocacy and generosity of Joan Harris has made an immeasurable impact on the national artistic landscape, ensuring that the arts are accessible, diverse, vibrant, and integral to the lives of Americans. While a committed group of arts lovers, and private and public civic leaders understood the unique 21st Century challenges facing Chicago's emerging and midsize music and dance organizations, it was through her leadership that the Harris Theater was created. Mrs. Harris has devoted her time and energy as a Board member for no less than twenty-three distinguished arts and cultural organizations including the Aspen Music Festival & School, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the League of American Orchestras, the Juilliard School, and served for the past six years as Chairman of the Harris Theater for Music and Dance. She was appointed to the President's Commission on the National Endowment for the Arts and has been honored with 12 awards for her life-long commitment to the arts including the prestigious Americans for the Arts - Frederick R. Weisman Award for Philanthropy in the Arts.

Abby O'Neil has held several leadership positions as an active Harris Trustee for many years, including a member of the Executive Committee, Co-Chair of the Development Committee, and, most recently, Co-Chair of the Harris Theater's Education and Community Engagement Committee. Through this effort, she has championed the development of family and community-based outreach programs at the Theater such as the Access Tickets Program, Eat to the Beat, and the Family Series. Ms. O'Neil is also an active philanthropist of the arts and civic leader in Chicago, and currently serves as an active member of her family's philanthropic organization - the Chauncey and Marion McCormick Foundation. Additionally, she sits on the non-profit boards of Rush University Medical Center, Chicago City Day School, Art Institute of Chicago, Woman's Board of The University of Chicago and the Ryan Licht Sang Bipolar Disorder Foundation.

Award-winning producer Louise B. Frank came to Window to the World Communications, parent company of 98.7 WFMT, after producing a wide variety of teleVision Productions and special events. During her almost decade-long tenure at WFMT, Chicago's illustrious classical radio station, she has developed and produced an extensive body of programming including the live recital series Impromptu, presenting to date nearly 700 artists ranging from emerging new talent to internationally renowned stars of the musical world. She has also produced globally-syndicated radio series showcasing performances from the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival and the Jerusalem International Chamber Music Festival. An avid folk musician, Louise serves on the Board of Directors of The Old Town School of Folk Music, and is a former member of the Chicago Jazz Ensemble's Advisory Board and the Junior Governing Board of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Patrick M. Sheahan, Ph.D. is currently Head of Community Affairs and Corporate Responsibility, Americas, for global financial services firm UBS, where he oversees charitable giving and corporate responsibility for the Americas. For nearly twenty years, he has been a member of the philanthropic sector with a keen interest in promoting the interface among the corporate, nonprofit and government sectors. Since 1998, Dr. Sheahan has been active with the Center on Halsted, the country's most comprehensive gay and lesbian community center. He is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago and serves as a board member for the Woods Fund of Chicago and the Goodman Theatre. The Chicago Sun Times named him as one of the best nonprofit fundraisers in Chicago having raised over $150 million for numerous organizations since the age of fourteen.

Opened in 2003, the Harris Theater's mission is to partner and collaborate with an array of Chicago's emerging and mid-sized performing arts organizations to help them build the resources and infrastructure necessary to achieve artistic growth and long-term organizational sustainability. The Harris Theater for Music and Dance was the first multi-use performing arts venue to be built in the Chicago downtown area since 1929 and today the Theater continues to host the most diverse offerings of any venue in Chicago, featuring the city's world-renowned music and dance institutions and the Harris Theater Presents series of acclaimed national and International Artists and ensembles. To learn more about the season at the Harris Theater, visit www.harristheaterchicago.org or call the box office at 312-334-7777 to request a brochure.

For additional information about the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, Chicago's state-of-the art 1,470 seat performance venue, please visit www.harristheaterchicago.org.

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