Deborah F. Rutter is an American arts executive. She is the president of the
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...
in Washington, D.C. Rutter is the first woman to head the Center, overseeing the center's operations in presenting theater, dance, music, awards, and the affiliated,
National Symphony Orchestra
The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1930, its principal performing venue is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It also performs for the annual National Mem ...
and
Washington National Opera
The Washington National Opera (WNO) is an American opera company in Washington, D.C. Formerly the Opera Society of Washington and the Washington Opera, the company received Congressional designation as the National Opera Company in 2000. Performa ...
. Earlier in her career, she was the president of the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenure ...
(2003–2014), an American orchestra commonly referred to as one of the "
Big Five".
Early life
Rutter was born in
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
and raised in
Encino, Los Angeles
Encino (Spanish for "oak") is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California.
History
In 1769, the Spanish Portolá expedition, first Europeans to see inland areas of California, traveled north through Sepulveda P ...
. She is the daughter of attorney Marshall Rutter.
She played piano and violin and participated in youth orchestras in Los Angeles. To help out the youth orchestra, her mother took classes in orchestra management. Rutter graduated from
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
in 1978, where she studied music and German. For a year, she studied in
Vienna
en, Viennese
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and played there in a community orchestra.
Applying for her first arts executive job, with a letter in German to its German born head,
Ernest Fleischmann Ernest Martin Fleischmann (December 7, 1924 – June 13, 2010) was a German-born American impresario who served for 30 years as executive director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, which he upgraded to become a top-ranked orchestra. A talented mu ...
, she was hired by the
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...
.
She worked there from 1978 to 1986. During that time, Rutter obtained a master's degree in business administration from the
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
.
Career
In 1986, Rutter was hired to head the
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra
The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) is an American chamber orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. LACO presents its Orchestral Series concerts at two venues, the Alex Theatre in Glendale and UCLA's Royce Hall.
History
James Arkatov, a ...
, where she remained until 1992. She then became the executive director of the
Seattle Symphony Orchestra
The Seattle Symphony is an American orchestra based in Seattle, Washington. Since 1998, the orchestra is resident at Benaroya Hall. The orchestra also serves as the accompanying orchestra for the Seattle Opera.
History
Beginnings
The orchestra ...
. In Seattle, she oversaw the construction of
Benaroya Hall
Benaroya Hall is the home of the Seattle Symphony in Downtown Seattle, Washington, United States. It features two auditoria, the S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium, a 2500-seat performance venue, as well as the Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital H ...
, the orchestra's new home.
She successfully worked to increase the Seattle's visibility and endowment.
Rutter was named to head the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association in 2003. According to arts management professor, Philippe Ravanas, she overhauled the Chicago's finance practices and reversed a financial decline.
She was later instrumental in attracting
Riccardo Muti
Riccardo Muti, (; born 28 July 1941) is an Italian conductor. He currently holds two music directorships, at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and at the Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini. Muti has previously held posts at the Maggio Musicale ...
as the orchestra's music director, and
Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma (''Chinese'': 馬友友 ''Ma Yo Yo''; born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born in Paris to Chinese parents and educated in New York City, he was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He graduated from ...
as creative consultant. Ma credits Rutter with making the orchestra and its music more accessible through performance and education beyond the major concert.
During her tenure, the orchestra was hurt by a
severe economic recession but her stewardship helped the organization to successfully weather it. In 2012, she settled a two-day musicians' strike.
Her latter years at the orchestra included record fundraising and ticket sales.
While in Chicago, she was named to the top 100 list of most powerful Chicagoans by ''
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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'' magazine; she has held the chair the policy committee of the
League of American Orchestras
The League of American Orchestras, formerly the American Symphony Orchestra League, is a North American service organization with 700 member orchestras of all budget sizes and types, plus individual and institutional members.
Based in New York Ci ...
, and has served as a board member for the
Solti Foundation.
[
Rutter remained with the orchestra until June 2014, and assumed her duties at the Kennedy Center on September 1 of that year. She is the first woman to head the large, partially federally-funded, performing arts organization that includes many different types of performances and programs.]
In the beginning of her tenure, she started the REACH, the first major expansion of the Kennedy Center since Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
was President in the early 1970s. The $175 million project was based on the assumption that people would want to meet with artists in a more casual setting which consists of a large and outstanding outdoor place designed by Steven Holl
Steven Holl (born December 9, 1947) is a New York-based American architect and watercolorist. Among his most recognized works are the 2019 REACH expansion of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the 2019 Hunters Point Library in Q ...
.
In 2018, Rutter launched DIRECT CURRENT, an annual festival of contemporary culture which focuses on new and interdisciplinary art.
Personal
Rutter is married to university professor and trombonist, Peter Ellefson. Previously, she went by the name Deborah Rutter Card due to a former marriage, and has one daughter.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rutter, Deborah
1950s births
Living people
Stanford University alumni
Marshall School of Business alumni
People from Encino, Los Angeles
American arts administrators
Women arts administrators