Steingraber and Junior Join Kimmel Center Team

Kimmel Center President and CEO Anne Ewers announces the appointment of Thor Steingraber to the position of Vice President of Institutional Strategy & Planning and Larae Junior to the position of Vice President  of Sales & Marketing.

Thor Steingraber joins the Kimmel Center executive team following 20 years experience in the performing arts profession.  He has directed operas at major venues across America, including Lincoln Center and the Los Angeles Opera, as well as in Asia and Europe.    Steingraber also brings a background in arts leadership and management, which extends back to 1990, when he founded an inner-city youth theater program in conjunction with the San Francisco YMCA.  From 1993 to 1997, he served as the Director of Production at the Utah Festival Opera, overseeing the planning and growth of the festival and developing a new 40,000-square foot production facility.  Last year, Steingraber was the first-ever Arts and Culture Fellow at the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Harvard University, and was awarded a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard's Kennedy School.

Prior to joining the Kimmel Center in 2010, Larae N. Junior's career included a decade of highly-successful positions with renowned arts organizations including the Durham Arts Council, American Dance Festival, Greensboro Symphony Orchestra and the Celebrity Series of Boston. Ms. Junior earned her Bachelors in Business Administration from North Carolina Central University, her Masters of Business Administration from Simmons School of Management in Boston, Mass., and is a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc.

"We are delighted to welcome both Thor and Larae to the Kimmel Center's senior management team," said Kimmel Center President and CEO Anne Ewers. "Thor offers invaluable insight to the executive team, bringing career expertise from both the artistic and arts administration arenas.  Larae's sales background and specific expertise in the arts presenting industry will help position the Kimmel Center in the hearts and minds of our community."

 "I welcome the opportunity to work alongside Anne Ewers in setting the vision and pace for an innovative arts organization such as the Kimmel Center," said Kimmel Center Vice President of Institutional Strategy & Planning Thor Steingraber.

"I am excited to be in the city of Philadelphia!" said Kimmel Center Vice President of Sales & Marketing Larae Junior, "Philly has a vibrant and supported arts environment, and more excitedly is at the crux of redefining the direction of the performing arts in this region. From the approaching Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts to the celebration of the10th anniversary of the Kimmel, I am positive 2011 will be a monumental year for the arts in this city."