We have thousands of human-written stories, discussions, interviews and reviews from today through the past 20+ years. Find them here:
Longtime Heifetz Institute Director Benjamin Roe Announces Retirement
Heifetz International Music Institute President and CEO Benjamin K. Roe announced today that he will retire this fall after leading the organization for 12 years.
Heifetz International Music Institute President and CEO Benjamin K. Roe. Image courtesy of the Heifetz Institute.
He will conclude his tenure following the Heifetz Institute’s 30th Anniversary season and will assume the title of President Emeritus, continuing to advance the Institute’s mission, support strategic initiatives, and help ensure a thoughtful and seamless transition to new leadership.
Headquartered in Staunton, Va., the Heifetz International Music Institute is a training program for exceptional young string players, featuring a summer festival and year-round concerts. The program is named after its founder, the violinist and pedagogue Daniel Heifetz, who started it in 1996 with just 20 students and a bold idea: that students should learn performance and communication skills alongside the technical skills they learn on their instruments. By now, the program has expanded greatly and more than 2,200 "Heifetz alumni" perform on international stages, serve on leading conservatory faculties and lead the industry as musical entrepreneurs.
Roe joined the organization in 2014, guiding the Institute through a remarkable era of expansion and innovation in close partnership with founder Daniel Heifetz and Artistic Director Nicholas Kitchen. Under his leadership, Heifetz expanded scholarship support, launched a thriving Junior Division, created the highly selective Chamber Music Seminar, significantly increased fundraising and national visibility, and grew its summer festival into a dynamic season of more than sixty performances.
"Ben has led Heifetz through a period of extraordinary growth, artistic ambition, and strategic momentum," said Board Chair Bruce Rosenblum. "He honored the founder’s vision while building the institutional strength necessary for the next generation. He is leaving the organization well positioned for the future."
When the global pandemic threatened the performing arts, Roe led a bold digital transformation that made Heifetz the first major summer classical music festival to move fully online — creating an immersive learning and performance environment for students and faculty across 14 countries and nine time zones. His media leadership continues to power the Institute’s industry-leading livestreams, a YouTube channel with more than 18 million views and 65,000 subscribers, frequent national broadcast appearances, the Heifetz App, and the public radio broadcast/podcast Heifetz On Air.
"Working alongside Ben has been a rare privilege," said Artistic Director Nicholas Kitchen. "His musical intelligence, strategic insight, and profound belief in the communicative power of performance have shaped this institution in lasting ways."
Today, the Institute presents more than 50 concerts each summer, offers more than 20 free performances annually, and brings music into schools, healthcare settings, and community spaces through Heifetz on Tour and the Heifetz Ensemble in Residence — reflecting Roe’s enduring commitment to artistic excellence paired with public purpose.
Nationally recognized as one of Musical America’s “Professionals of the Year,” Roe previously held senior leadership roles at National Public Radio in Washington, DC, and at public-media powerhouse WGBH in Boston. During his distinguished career, he has been honored with a Grammy Award, the National Endowment for the Arts Chairman’s Medal, a George Foster Peabody Award, and an ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award. More recently, Roe and the Heifetz Institute received the 2023 Circle of Excellence in the Arts Award from James Madison University for outstanding accomplishments and sustained contributions in the arts.
The Heifetz Board of Directors will launch a national search for the Institute’s next leader in the coming months.
"As I conclude this chapter, leading Heifetz has been one of the great privileges of my professional life," said Roe. "I look forward to supporting the Institute’s continued growth and watching the next generation of extraordinary musicians shape the future of our art form."
You might also like:
- Interview with Daniel Heifetz, Part 1: Becoming Daniel Heifetz, in the shadow of Jascha Heifetz
- Master Class with Daniel Heifetz
- Freeing Your Expressive Capabilities; and Chamber Coachings with Larry Dutton and Daniel Heifetz
* * *
Enjoying Violinist.com? Click here to sign up for our free, bi-weekly email newsletter. And if you've already signed up, please invite your friends! Thank you.
Replies
You must be registered and logged in to submit a comment.
