Newport Classical Announces Executive Director Gillian Fox is Completing her Tenure
Photo by Lisette Rooney for Newport Classical. Available in high resolution here.
Newport, RI – Newport Classical announced today that Gillian Fox, the organization’s Executive Director since 2021, will be stepping down to become the next President and CEO of the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts in Katonah, NY, beginning on June 9.
Fox will work closely with the Board and staff through the start of the Music Festival to ensure a smooth transition, returning on July 5 to celebrate her tenure on Opening Night. The Board of Directors has begun the process to launch a robust national search for Newport Classical’s next Executive Director.
Fox leaves Newport Classical in a position of strength, both artistically and structurally. The organization has significantly expanded beyond its annual summertime Newport Classical Music Festival to encompass a wide array of programming that brings exceptional classical music to Newport on an ongoing, year-round basis. In 2021, Newport Classical established a new home at Emmanuel Church on Dearborn Street and opened the Newport Classical Recital Hall. The Chamber Series, held at the Recital Hall from September through June, brings world-class musicians to downtown Newport; Newport Classical’s Community Concerts Series brings free performances to families right in their own neighborhoods; and the Music Education and Engagement Initiative has inspired and enriched the lives of over 2,500 children through in-school and community engagements since 2021. The Newport Classical Music Festival has also drawn record numbers of new audience members in the summer, with one-third of patrons attending for the first time, and is known nationally as a destination for live classical music.
Newport Classical Board President Suzanna Laramee says, “In the four and a half years that Gillian has been at Newport Classical she has worked tirelessly with the Board and her staff to bring our organization to international recognition with outstanding artistry and organizational stability, which we are thrilled to sustain and build upon. We are grateful for Gillian’s transformative leadership, which now leaves Newport Classical stronger than ever, with a newly completed three-year strategic plan about to be announced and implemented. Working closely with her has been a distinct pleasure and privilege.”
“It has been a true honor to lead Newport Classical at this remarkable moment in its history,” says Gillian Fox. “This is a magical organization – one that presents truly one-of-a-kind concerts and is supported by an extraordinarily vibrant and passionate community of music lovers. I am deeply grateful for the meaningful relationships I’ve built over the past four and a half years – with the dedicated and talented Board of Directors, the creative and committed staff, and the many generous supporters and patrons. I am especially thankful for the partnership, friendship, and inspiring leadership of Board President Suzanna Laramee and Vice President Steve Huttler. Thank you for welcoming my family and me into this extraordinary community. We will always cherish our time here.”
Newport Classical continues its spring and summer with a full slate of performances. Tickets are now available for the 2025 Newport Classical Music Festival, which takes place from July 4-22, 2025. Highlights include Opening Night featuring Two Pianos with Alessio Bax and Lucille Chung; two evenings with Broadway star Jessica Vosk, best known for her lead role in Wicked; performances by extraordinary pianists Inon Barnatan, Sara Davis Buechner, and Wynona Wang; celebrated soprano Karen Slack's African Queens project co-commissioned by Newport Classical with a national consortium; the US premiere of a new work by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang co-commissioned by Newport Classical with an international consortium; performances by world-class artists including violinist Leila Josefowicz, The Westerlies, Third Coast Percussion, harpist Emily Levin, guitarists Ziggy and Miles, Palaver Strings, Attacca Quartet, Twelfth Night, The Gesualdo Six, Tallā Rouge, Empire Wild, and more; Opera Night: An American Tapestry; and Closing Night with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and violinist Stefan Jackiw. For the fifth year in a row, Newport Classical has commissioned a brand new work to be premiered at the Festival. This year's Composer-in-Residence is Cris Derksen, a Juno-nominated Indigenous cellist and composer, who has written a new work for the Galvin Cello Quartet.
About Newport Classical
Newport Classical is a premier performing arts organization that welcomes people of every age, culture, and background to intimate, immersive musical experiences. The organization presents world-renowned and up-and-coming artistic talents at stunning, storied venues across Newport – an internationally sought-after cultural and recreational destination.
Originally founded in 1969 as Rhode Island Arts Foundation at Newport, Inc., Newport Classical has a rich legacy of musical curiosity having presented the American debuts of hundreds of international artists and is most well-known for hosting three weeks of concerts in the summer in the historic mansions throughout Newport and Aquidneck Island. In the 56 years since, Newport Classical has become the most active year-round presenter of music on Aquidneck Island, and an essential pillar of Rhode Island’s cultural landscape, welcoming thousands of patrons all year long.
Newport Classical invests in the future of classical music as a diverse, relevant, and ever-evolving art form through its four core programs – the one-of-a-kind Music Festival; the Chamber Series in the Newport Classical Recital Hall; the free, family-friendly Community Concerts Series; and the Music Education and Engagement Initiative that inspires students in local schools to become the arts advocates and music lovers of tomorrow. These programs illustrate the organization’s ongoing commitment to presenting “timeless music for today.”
In 2021, the organization launched a new commissioning initiative – each year, Newport Classical will commission a new work by a Black, Indigenous, person of color, or woman composer as a commitment to the future of classical music. To date, Newport Classical has commissioned and presented the world premiere of works by Stacy Garrop, Shawn Okpebholo, Curtis Stewart, and Clarice Assad.