Saturday, October 01, 2005

Beach Heading for the Beach

After 16 years as artistic director of The Performing Arts Center in Purchase, New York, Christopher Beach has accepted the position of President and Artistic Director of the La Jolla Music Society. Since 1989, Christopher guided The Center through 16 years of uninterrupted growth. He grew the budget during that time from $1.2 million to $5.2 million, and expanded The Center’s Season from 21 performances in 1989 to over 120 in the 2005 season. Under his leadership, The Performing Arts Center at Purchase College has grown from a local venue for primarily classical music to the largest professional performing arts series in the SUNY system.

The La Jolla Music Society is one of the West Coast’s leading presenters of world-class performing arts and is heir to a distinguished tradition reaching back to the Musical Arts Society of La Jolla founded in 1941 by Nikolai Sokoloff, the former conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra.

Christopher has wisely decided to leave New York just before winter sets in. To view the news of his appointment, see the article in The San Diego Union-Tribune.