Former CEO of Chorus America Joins NEA

As of January 12, 2015, Ann Meier Baker is the new director of music and opera at the National Endowment for the Arts. In that position, she will lead NEA grantmaking in music and opera grants as well as the NEA Jazz Masters Fellowships, and represent the agency to the field. Baker moved to the position from Chorus America, where she had been president and CEO since 2000. Chorus America is a national membership association of more than 2,000 professional, volunteer, symphonic and children/youth choruses. Baker also worked for the League of American Orchestras, the National Association for Music Education, and began her career as a professional singer with the United States Air Force Singing Sergeants. The author of several books on music organization governance, she has received several awards, including Chorus America’s induction into the Classical Music Hall of Fame in 2011.

"I have seen firsthand the positive impact that the National Endowment for the Arts has on arts organizations and its power to spur innovation and creativity,” said Baker. “It will be my honor to join the NEA leadership team, and to contribute to the agency’s work that ensures the arts thrive and bring value to communities throughout the country."

Baker replaces Wayne Brown, who stepped down as longtime music and opera director in January 2014.

The National Endowment for the Arts supports a wide range of music, from classical to contemporary, and grants support both performing ensembles and music presenting institutions including chamber music ensembles, opera companies, choruses, early music programs, music festivals, and symphony orchestras. In FY 2014, the NEA awarded $7.4 million to 330 music and opera projects across the country, from the Opera Iowa Educational Touring Troupe to free neighborhood concerts with the Philadelphia Orchestra.