Blake-Anthony Johnson. Photo by Andrew Collins/Chicago Sinfonietta.
In Monday’s (10/28) Chicago Tribune, Hannah Edgar writes, “Arts administrator and cellist Blake-Anthony Johnson will leave his position as the president and CEO of the Chicago Sinfonietta to head the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation in January, both organizations announced … ‘I am extremely proud of and grateful for my time with Chicago Sinfonietta, a groundbreaking orchestra that for 37 years has inspired and championed diversity and inclusion in the arts,’ Johnson said … Johnson says he was drawn to [the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation] in part because of the city’s ‘personal significance for me through my family’s roots.’ Johnson, 34, assumed his role at the Chicago Sinfonietta in March 2020. At the time, he was not only the first Black chief executive of an American orchestra of the Sinfonietta’s stature but among the youngest in the industry … Johnson’s tenure, while brief, has been transformative for the Sinfonietta, whose mission since its founding in 1987 has been to ‘inspire a continued investment in diversity and inclusivity in the genre of classical music.’ … After Johnson’s formal departure from the Sinfonietta on Jan. 1, 2025, he will continue to act as an ‘executive advisor’ during the search for his successor.”
