PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA WELCOMES FOUR BOARD MEMBERS AND NEW CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER
For Immediate Release
November 10, 2020
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PITTSBURGH, PA—The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is pleased to announce the hire of Ms. Mary Anne Talotta to the position of Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer, as well as the election of four new members to its Board of Directors. The recently elected board members are Mr. Jeff Craft, Ms. Myah Moore Irick, Dr. Joon S. Lee, and Mr. Ryan Vaccaro.
“We are thrilled to welcome Mary Anne Talotta to our senior management team, and Jeff Craft, Myah Moore Irick, Dr. Lee and Ryan Vaccaro to the board of directors of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. At a time when the performing arts are challenged like no other time in modern history because of the coronavirus pandemic, we are grateful for their faith and optimism about the future of this great orchestra, now in its 125th season, and the importance of our vision of bringing great music in every life,” said Anthony L. Bucci, Board Chair, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
Mary Anne Talotta joins the Pittsburgh Symphony from the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City, where she has led fundraising efforts since 2012, most recently as the Senior Director, Individual Development and Campaign. She is a highly collaborative arts and cultural leader with more than 20 years of experience of global fundraising for major institutions in New York and Chicago, leading campaigns and efforts that have significantly enhanced revenue and donor engagement at those institutions.
“My first experience with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra was during an elementary school field trip to Heinz Hall. That concert and my exposure to the city’s cultural offerings provided the basis for my life-long love of the arts. After more than 20 years of working in arts fundraising in Chicago and New York City, I am proud to have this amazing opportunity to return home to join the team at the Pittsburgh Symphony to raise important support for this world-class symphony in the heart of Pittsburgh,” said Mary Anne Talotta.
As Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer, Talotta will serve as a member of the senior management team and will provide leadership and direction for the orchestra’s Development team. A Pittsburgh native, Talotta will relocate and begin her new role at the orchestra on January 4, 2021. Talotta holds a Master of Arts, Visual Arts Administration, from New York University, and a B.S. (cum laude) from Northwestern University.
New Board Members
Jeff Craft is Managing Partner of Deloitte, Pittsburgh, where he is responsible for the strategy of Deloitte’s services and presence in the Pittsburgh marketplace. Mr. Craft has spent most of his career serving clients within the Energy, Resources and Industrials industries, working predominantly with large public companies on key strategic initiatives, and currently serves as the lead or advisory partner for several key clients. He is active in youth sports, serving on various youth organization boards and as a volunteer coach for several sports. He also serves on the board of the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania.
Myah Moore Irick is a Senior Vice President & the Founder of the Irick Group at Merrill Private Wealth Management. Ms. Irick focuses on providing wealth planning strategies to successful executives, professional athletes, and families navigating sudden wealth. She serves on the boards of the Carnegie Science Center, the Energy Innovation Center Institute, and serves as a strategic partner to InvestmentNews, The Miss Universe Organization, and The Advanced Leadership Initiative.
Dr. Joon S. Lee is Chief Medical Officer of the UPMC Insurance Services Division, where he provides medical leadership for the clinical team, which serves 3.5 million members of the UPMC insurance and health management companies. Dr. Lee is an interventional cardiologist by training and has focused his research and clinical interests on the role of stem cells in the treatment of coronary artery disease and catheter-based treatment of valvular disease.
Ryan Vaccaro is a Managing Director of The Dietrich Foundation, a charitable trust based in Pittsburgh that was created through the extraordinary charitable vision and generosity of William (Bill) S. Dietrich II. Mr. Vaccaro focuses on portfolio construction and manager selection in various asset classes, including private equity (specializing in venture capital and growth equity), public equity and hedge funds. He also serves on the investment committee for the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.
About the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
The two-time 2018 GRAMMY Award-winning Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is credited with a rich history of engaging the world’s finest conductors and musicians and demonstrates a genuine commitment to the Pittsburgh region and its citizens. Known for its artistic excellence for nearly 125 years, past music directors have included Fritz Reiner (1938-1948), William Steinberg (1952-1976), André Previn (1976-1984), Lorin Maazel (1984-1996) and Mariss Jansons (1997-2004). This tradition of outstanding international music directors was continued in fall 2008, when Austrian conductor Manfred Honeck became Music Director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. The Pittsburgh Symphony is continually at the forefront of championing new American works. They premiered Leonard Bernstein’s Symphony No. 1 “Jeremiah” in 1944, John Adams’ Short Ride in a Fast Machine in1986, and Mason Bates’ Resurrexit in 2018 to celebrate Manfred Honeck’s 60th birthday. The orchestra has a long and illustrious history in the areas of recordings and live radio broadcasts. Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra have received multiple GRAMMY nominations for Best Orchestral Performance, taking home the award in 2018 for their recording of Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5; Barber: Adagio. As early as1936, the Pittsburgh Symphony has been broadcasted on the radio. Since 1982, the orchestra has received increased attention through national network radio broadcasts on Public Radio International, produced by ClassicalWQED-FM89.3, made possible by the musicians of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Lauded as the Pittsburgh region’s international cultural ambassador, in 2019 the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, under the leadership of Music Director Manfred Honeck, embarked on an extensive tour of Europe, the 25th in orchestra history.
Media Contacts
Julie Goetz | Director of Communications
jgoetz@pittsburghsymphony.org | 412.392.4866 or 412.905.9058 (mobile)