Steven Libman (born October 5, 1959) is a nationally recognized performing arts executive known for leading major orchestra, dance and theatre companies and performing arts centers with an emphasis on classical music and jazz. His career spans more than three decades and he has previously served as the Managing Director or Chief Executive Officer for the

Pittsburgh Ballet The Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre (PBT) is an American professional ballet company based in the Strip District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (USA). History 1969 - Founding The Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre was founded in 1969 by a Yugoslavian chor ...

, La Jolla Playhouse and The Palladium at the Center for the Performing Arts. He has also served as the chief advancement officer for the Atlanta Ballet. He is also a public speaker and was the co-host and co-founder of " The Voice of the Performing Arts," a weekly public radio show devoted to the importance of arts education. Currently, Libman is the President & Chief Executive Officer for the

Jacksonville Symphony The Jacksonville Symphony is an orchestra based in Jacksonville, Florida. Concert hall As one of a handful of American orchestras with its own dedicated concert hall, the Jacksonville Symphony performs the majority of its programs in the Ro ...

and the president of The Libman Group, a consulting firm that works exclusively in the performing and visual arts arena.

Early life

Libman was born on October 5, 1959, in Providence, Rhode Island. He is the son of Marilyn (deceased) and Herman Libman (deceased). He has a brother Scott. Libman grew up in Rhode Island and the family moved to

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...

, when he was in the sixth grade, where they stayed for three years. Libman then moved back to Rhode Island, went to high school (Cranston High School East) and then

Rhode Island College Rhode Island College (RIC) is a public college in Providence, Rhode Island. The college was established in 1854 as the Rhode Island State Normal School, making it the second oldest institution of higher education in Rhode Island after Brown Uni ...

where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in

performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perform ...

management in 1981.

Career

Early in Libman's career, he served as managing director of the Rev Theatre Company (formerly the Finger Lakes Musical Theatre Festival) and the

Fulton Opera House The Fulton Opera House, also known as the Fulton Theatre or simply The Fulton, is a League of Regional Theatres class B regional theater located in historic downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It is reportedly the oldest working theatre in the Unite ...

before being named managing director of the

, where he spent 17 years. While with the

, Libman broke new ground in funder relations, raising more than $50 million. He developed ground breaking ballets set to jazz and the music of

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...

, Pete Seeger,

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...

and

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

. Libman also established tours to Taiwan,

Wolf Trap A wolf trap (Spanish ''lobera'', Italian ''luparia'') was a chase ending in a pit with trapdoor and stakes used by beaters in hunting wolves in medieval Europe.Towards a History of the Basque Language José Ignacio Hualde, Joseba A. Lakarra, Rob ...

(Washington, D.C.), The

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018. The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...

and The

Joyce Theatre The Joyce Theater (“The Joyce") is a 472-seat dance performance venue located in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City. The building opened in 1941 as the Elgin Theater, a movie house, and was gut-renovated and reconfigured in 1981-82 to reo ...

in New York City. When he left the ballet, he was the longest-serving arts executive in the city and one of the two longest-serving managing directors of major ballet companies in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. From 2005 to 2008, Libman served as managing director and the chief administrative officer at the Tony Award winning La Jolla Playhouse. He ran a four-venue complex that produced over 300 performances per season, and produced 28 plays, including ten world premieres. Libman was the founding president and CEO of The Palladium at the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, Indiana, from 2009 to 2012. While there, he successfully planned and launched the first few seasons and produced two major opening night festival galas with: Michael Feinstein, Chris Botti, Neil Sedaka,

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick (; born December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest U.S. hit makers between 1955 and 1999, based on her chart history on ''Billboards Hot 100 pop singles cha ...

, David Hyde Pierce and dancers from

American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant, it is recognized as one of the world's leading classical ballet companies. Through 2019, it had an annual ei ...

. He also produced a PBS special with Michael Feinstein seen by 11 million viewers. The special titled "Michael Feinstein: The Sinatra Project" was nominated for Outstanding Music Direction at the 64th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards. From 2014 to 2020 Libman was the chief advancement officer for the Atlanta Ballet, raising over $35 million, including $5.5M for a new production of The Nutcracker. He re-designed the entire development program and also managed the development and governance committees. Libman has taught graduate courses in fundraising, leadership, HR and arts administration at the University of Pittsburgh,

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

, University of California, San Diego and

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

. Libman is president and CEO for the

and president of The Libman Group, a consulting practice specializing in the

Performing Arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perform ...

. He is also the former co-host of " The Voice of the Performing Arts" radio show. The Voice of the Performing Arts ran from 2013 to 2016, interviewed over 500 guests through 166 shows for a weekly audience of up to 10,000. The show aired weekly on public radio station WICR 88.7 at the University of Indianapolis and was podcast in iTunes.

Awards

In 2000 Libman was awarded as an Outstanding Alumnus in the Arts by

. Libman also has certificates in Non-profit Management and Strategic Planning from the

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...

and the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. In 2008 Libman was awarded a Leadership Advancement Award by the

Irvine Foundation The James Irvine Foundation is a philanthropic nonprofit organization established to benefit the people of California. The foundation's grantmaking focuses on a California where all low-income workers have the power to advance economically. The fou ...

. He has served on the boards of the following organizations: Dance/USA, La Jolla Country Day School, City National Bank Advisory Board, and the AGMA Retirement and Health Funds.

Personal life

Libman has a daughter Tracy and two grandchildren. Libman is married to Carol Killworth and was married to Keitha Libman from 1980 to 2013.

References

External links

The Libman Group
{{DEFAULTSORT:Libman, Steven American art educators 1959 births Living people Rhode Island College alumni