Deborah Rutter began her tenure as president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on September 1st of 2014, after having served for 11 years as president of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association, and before that as executive director of both the Seattle Symphony and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. She is considered one of the most influential arts administrators in the nation.
As president of the Kennedy Center, Ms. Rutter is the artistic and administrative director of the world’s busiest performing-arts center, encompassing expansive theater, dance, and music programs, as well as one of the nation’s largest arts-education programs that reaches millions of people each year, and includes the VSA, the international organization on arts and disability. Known for emphasizing collaboration, innovation, and community engagement, Rutter talks to Arts Program Director, Damian Woetzel, about how she intends to focus her experiences and enthusiasm toward a bright future for the Kennedy Center.
The Washington Ideas Roundtable Series is made possible with the generous support of Michelle Smith and the Robert H. Smith Family Foundation.
