Welz Kauffman joins Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music as executive director and CEO this fall.
Welz Kauffman has been appointed executive director and chief executive officer of the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago, effective on September 30. He succeeds Jim Newcomb, who announced his decision to step down at the end of 2023. In Chicago, Kauffman was for many years the president and CEO of the Ravinia Festival, where he expanded educational programs through Ravinia’s Reach, Teach, Play initiative and its Steans Music Institute. He also diversified Ravinia’s musical offerings across more than 150 annual performances, which included longstanding collaborations with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as well as bookings of pop, rock, and world-music artists and groups. Previously, Kauffman was director of artistic planning for the Los Angeles Philharmonic and artistic administrator for the New York Philharmonic. Earlier in his career, he was general manager of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, artistic administrator for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and general manager of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. Since 2020, Kauffman has lived in Tucson, Arizona, where he was a consultant to performing arts organizations. Founded in 1957, the Old Town School of Folk Music provides music, dance, and arts courses to people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds.
