Joseph V. Melillo was executive producer at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) from 1999 to 2018, and was named executive producer emeritus upon his departure. He is Columbia Artists' International Artistic Advisor, and was a 201
Director’s Fellow at the Center for Ballet and the Arts at New York University.

Education

Joseph V. Melillo earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and theater at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT and a Masters of Fine Arts in speech and drama at

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...

in Washington, DC.

Career

Melillo was responsible for the artistic direction of theater, dance, music, visual art, film, and more at the multi-venue arts center, which includes the Harvey Theater, Howard Gilman Opera House, Fishman Space, Rose Cinemas, and BAMcafé. Prior to that, working with President/Executive Producer

Harvey Lichtenstein Harvey Lichtenstein (April 9, 1929 – February 11, 2017) was an American arts administrator. He is best known for his 32-year tenure (1967–99) as president and executive producer of the Brooklyn Academy of Music, or BAM, as it became known und ...

, Melillo served as BAM's producing director, following a six-year tenure as founding director of the BAM Next Wave Festival. Over 35 years at BAM, Melillo programmed the work of emerging and established artists such as Pina Bausch,

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...

, Trisha Brown,

Bill T. Jones William Tass Jones, known as Bill T. Jones, (born February 15, 1952) is an American choreographer, director, author and dancer. He is the co-founder of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. Jones is Artistic Director of New York Live Ar ...

Arnie Zane Arnie Zane (September 26, 1948 – March 30, 1988) was an American photographer, choreographer, and dancer. He is best known as the co-founder and co-artistic director of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. Early years The second so ...

, Merce Cunningham, Robert Wilson, Urban Bush Women,

Ivo van Hove Ivo van Hove (born 28 October 1958) is a Belgian theatre director known as the artistic director of Toneelgroep Amsterdam in the Netherlands and for his Off-Broadway avant-garde experimental theatre productions. On Broadway, he has directed rev ...

Ralph Lemon Ralph Lemon (born August 1, 1952 in Cincinnati, Ohio) is an American choreographer, company director, writer, visual artist and a conceptualist. Raised in a religious environment, he developed his artistic creativity as a child.Diana Stockon, � ...

, Anne Bogart, Cheek by Jowl, Reggie Wilson, Mark Morris, and

Michelle Dorrance Michelle Dorrance (born September 12, 1979) is an American tap dancer, performer, choreographer, teacher and director. Awarded a MacArthur "Genius Grant", she is the Founder and Artistic Director of Dorrance Dance. Dorrance is known for her crea ...

, among many others. During his tenure, he worked alongside

Karen Brooks Hopkins Karen Brooks Hopkins is the president emerita of Brooklyn Academy of Music, having served as its president from 1999 to 2015. Previously she was an adjunct professor for the Brooklyn College Program for Arts Administration. In the spring of 1995 ...

(BAM president from 1999—2015) and Katy Clark (BAM president from 2015—present). He forged artistic partnerships such a
The Bridge Project
��a three-year series of international theater engagements featuring a trans-Atlantic company of actors directed by

Sam Mendes Sir Samuel Alexander Mendes (born 1 August 1965) is a British film and stage director, producer, and screenwriter. In 2000, Mendes was appointed a CBE for his services to drama, and he was Knight Bachelor, knighted in the 2020 New Year Honour ...

and produced by BAM, The Old Vic, and Neal Street—and for seven seasons, ''DanceMotion USA^sm'', an international cultural diplomacy program in partnership with the US Department of State. In 1999, the BAM Rose Cinemas opened with four screens, including one dedicated to repertory and special series. Under Melillo's guidance, in 2012—a year after celebrating 150 years—BAM expanded to include the Richard B. Fisher Building. It features the smaller, flexible Fishman Space, a third stage for BAM's programs, as well as the Education department and children's programming. The history of Melillo's programming at BAM is documented in two books: ''BAM: The Complete Works'' (2011) and
BAM: The Next Wave Festival
' (2018). BAM's extensive archive is digitized and publicly accessible through th
Leon Levy Digital Archive

Recognition

* Chevalier (1999) and Officier (2004) de L’ordre des Arts et des Lettres, France *

OBIE The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the A ...

Award for International Programming (2002—3) * Drama Desk Special Award for bringing works of distinction from around the world (2002—3) * Honorary

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

for outstanding commitment to British performing arts in the US (2004) * Knight of the Royal Order of the Polar Star for solidifying ties in performing arts between Sweden and the US (2007) * Cultural ambassador for Taiwan for bringing the arts of Taiwan to US (2012) * Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters,

St. Francis College , mottoeng = My God, My All , established = , type = Private college , chancellor = , president = Miguel Martinez-Saenz , provost = Jennifer Lancas ...

, Brooklyn, NY (2012) * Gaudium Award, Breukelein Institute (2012) * National Medal of the Arts (2013), received by Joseph V. Melillo and Karen B. Hopkins on behalf of BAM * Knight of the National Order of Québec (2016) *

Bessie Awards The New York Dance and Performance Awards, also known as the Bessie Awards, are awarded annually for exceptional achievement by independent dance artists presenting their work in New York City. The broad categories of the awards are: choreography, ...

, Presenter Award for Outstanding Curating (2018) *

Aga Khan Music Initiative The Aga Khan Music Initiative in Central Asia was established in 2000 by His Highness the Aga Khan with the aim of assisting in the preservation of Central Asia's musical heritage by ensuring its transmission to a new generation of artists and audi ...

, advisor (2018—19) *Medal of Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, France (2019) *International Citation of Merit, International Society for the Performing Arts (2020)

Teaching and adjudication

Melillo has served as an adjudicator/panelist for award-giving and honorary bodies including the Praemium Imperiale, Japan Art Association; Wexner Prize, Wexner Center for the Arts;

Pew Fellowship in the Arts The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage is a nonprofit grantmaking organization and knowledge-sharing hub for arts and culture in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US established in 2005. In 2008, Paula Marincola was named the first executive director. Th ...

; and the

Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative Rolex SA () is a British-founded Swiss watch designer and manufacturer based in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 1905 as ''Wilsdorf and Davis'' by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis in London, the company registered ''Rolex'' as the brand name of ...

. He has been on boards of directors (

Association of Performing Arts Presenters The Association of Performing Arts Professionals (previously the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, also known as APAP), based in Washington, D.C.,

; En Garde Arts); and has taught and lectured (

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls about 15,000 undergraduate and 2,800 graduate students on a 35-acre campus. Being New York City's first publ ...

Graduate Program in Arts Management), among numerous others.

References

External links

* https://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20090120/FREE/901199966/bam-launching-300m-capital-campaign * https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/bam-stage-melillo-celebrates-25-years-helm-brooklyn-academy-music-article-1.381904 * https://www.americantheatre.org/2017/05/04/joseph-v-melillo-to-depart-brooklyn-academy-of-music/ * https://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2018/august/the-center-for-ballet-and-the-arts-launches-director-s-fellowshi.html * https://howlround.com/how-have-successful-thirty-five-year-career {{DEFAULTSORT:Melillo, Joseph V. Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Officiers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Bessie Award winners Knights of the National Order of Quebec