We at the Carmel Bach Festival are pleased to announce the appointment of Nathan Lutz as the new Executive Director of the Festival. Lutz brings a decade of music administration experience from his work with three major U.S. orchestras to his new role at the Festival.
“We are delighted to welcome Nathan Lutz as the Carmel Bach Festival’s new Executive Director,” said Board President Cyrill Yansouni. “With his range of experience as a performing arts leader and his ‘people first’ approach to management, his unique skill set ensures a bright future for the Carmel Bach Festival.”
“I am honored to join the Carmel Bach Festival,” expressed Lutz, “I look forward to working with the board, musicians, and administration. I am especially excited to support the artistic leadership of Grete Pederson and Andrew Megill. Building on decades of musical excellence, we will raise the national profile of the Festival and plan the next chapter of this unique and historical organization.”
Principal Conductor and Artistic Director Grete Pedersen echoed Lutz’s sentiment, saying, “I am thrilled and very excited to start the collaboration with Nathan Lutz. I trust he will be a leader who steadily moves our Festival forward in an excellent way. I truly believe the search committee has made a great choice.”
Lutz has served as the Director of Operations and Education Programs at the Dallas Symphony Orchestra for the past seven years, where he was responsible for a $10 million artistic operations budget, managing the orchestra and concert production, negotiating collective bargaining agreements, overseeing the music education department, planning the youth and family concert series, and more. Previously, he was Assistant Personnel Manager for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and a Double Bass Fellow for the New World Symphony in Miami.
Lutz is thrilled to call the Monterey Peninsula his new home and shared that joining the Carmel Bach Festival team is a special, full-circle moment for him. “The Carmel Bach Festival has been in my life since childhood as my double bass teacher, Derek Weller, has been a dedicated member of the orchestra for almost thirty years,” shared Lutz. “As a student, I grew up hearing about the incredible music-making that happens every summer in Carmel.”
Lutz succeeds our longtime Executive Director, Steve Friedlander, who passed away earlier this year. We are proud to acknowledge the work of our leadership team, Lauren Gutierrez-Brown, General Manager, and Suzanne Mudge, Director of Development and Community Engagement, throughout this transition.