Knowles has served as executive director since 2000. The Los Angeles Master Chorale is a resident company of the Music Center and is the resident chorus at Walt Disney Concert Hall. It is one of only a handful of professional choirs in the country.
Knowles is completing her 11th season with the Los Angeles Master Chorale. During her tenure, LAMC has recorded four commercial CDs, which includes forging a new recording partnership with Decca Recording Group, and increased its operating budget by 75%, to $3.7 million.
The Los Angeles Master Chorale has also expanded its season and institutional profile significantly, launched a new multi-year strategic plan, undertaken ambitious commissioning projects, toured to New York and the Midwest and expanded its relationship with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and other leading Southland music organizations. It also launched the award-winning “Voices Within†education outreach program, inspiring the next generation of composers, singers and music lovers, and, in recent years, has enjoyed numerous sell-out concerts. In 2009, Knowles and LAMC were selected for a special grant from the James Irvine Foundation’s Fund for Leadership Advancement. The focus of her and the organization’s work under this grant, which continues through 2011, is to align the LA Master Chorale’s governance and management leadership systems in support of the new strategic plan, which included, for the first time in its history, the election of its most senior staff member to the position of President and CEO. Before joining the organization, Knowles was Director of Major and Planned Giving for California Institute of the Arts.
For more information: www.LAMC.org
