Jesse Rosen
President and CEO
League of American Orchestras
Jesse Rosen has been recognized as one of the outstanding thinkers in contemporary performing arts leadership. As president and CEO of the League of American Orchestras since July 2008, he has raised the level of debate about orchestras among the nation’s cultural, policy, and opinion leaders and among the League’s approximately 850 member orchestras. Under Mr. Rosen’s guidance, the League has taken a leadership role in helping orchestras adapt to a rapidly changing environment, particularly in the recent financial downturn. New initiatives have expanded the League’s support of orchestras as they work to strengthen their fiscal health, their management and board leadership, their engagement with their communities, and their artistic vitality. A lifelong musician and experienced orchestra CEO, Mr. Rosen has stimulated innovation throughout his more than ten-year tenure at the League. He was instrumental in creating new programs such as Music Alive, the American Conducting Fellows, and Ford Made in America.
Prior to joining the League, he served as general manager of the Seattle Symphony, executive vice president and managing director of the American Composers Orchestra in New York City, orchestra manager of the New York Philharmonic, and vice president of programs for Affiliate Artists, Inc. A trombonist, Mr. Rosen received his bachelor’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music and pursued graduate studies at The Juilliard School. Jesse Rosen serves on the boards of the American Composers Orchestra and the Performing Arts Alliance and the Board of Overseers of the Curtis Institute of Music.