A New Agenda for the Arts in America: a Roundtable with Clive Gillinson of Carnegie Hall and Don Randel of the Mellon Foundation.
The arts play an irreplaceable role in society. They awaken and develop our full human potential. They articulate and communicate what it means to be alive. They provide the most enduring legacy of a nation.
But in America today the arts seem to be retreating from education, public life, and the media. What is to be done? A candid discussion of the real issues that need to be addressed by both the public and private sectors to provide effective support for the Arts in America.
Sir Clive Gillinson is the Executive and Artistic Director of Carnegie Hall in New York City, one of the largest arts presenting organizations in the world. Trained as a musician at the Royal Academy of Music, Gillinson joined the London Symphony Orchestra in 1970 as a cellist. He eventually became the Managing Director of this self-governing organization (1984-2005). During his long and distinguished tenure, the London Symphony Orchestra became a model of artistic excellence, financial planning, and broad public reach. Gillinson is the only orchestra manager ever to be honored with a knighthood.
Don Randel is the President of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, one of the largest annual private funders of the arts and humanities in the U.S. Randel also served as the president of the University of Chicago (2000-20006) where he strengthened the presence of the arts and humanities on campus. A Princeton-trained musician and musicologist, Randel taught music at Cornell University where he also served as department chair, dean, and provost. He is the editor of the New Harvard Dictionary of Music (1986) and the Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music (1996).