Cincinnati Arts Association 2023 Report to the Community

COMMUNITY 2023 REPORT TO THE

IN MEMORIAM STANLEY J. ARONOFF 1932–2024 Ohio Senate President (1989–1996), Lawyer, Civic Leader, Arts Supporter

Without Stan there would be no Aronoff Center.

Early in the 1990s, he championed a huge, concerted effort as Ohio Senate President to secure major support from the State of Ohio to fund a new arts center in the city of Cincinnati, which ultimately became the Stanley J. Aronoff Center for the Arts.

Since the opening of the Aronoff in 1995, more than 11.5 million guests have experienced the arts and events in the Aronoff’s theaters, public gathering spaces, and the Weston Art Gallery. Over the years, Stan continued to support the Aronoff Center with advocacy and state funding and was a tireless supporter of all the arts in Cincinnati.

Stan once said, “I want to be remembered for more than the bricks and mortar. I want to be remembered as a person who cares about people.” As we celebrate Stan’s life and legacy, that is how we remember him. We are eternally grateful for all the ways he has made a difference in our community. Although he will be greatly missed, we know his spirit will always be a part of the extraordinary arts venue that bears his name.

DEAR FRIENDS OF THE ARTS, During the 2022–23 season,

“Art pulls a community together… Art makes you feel differently. That’s what artists are doing all the time, shifting and changing the way you see life.”

we were thrilled to witness an uplifting new energy in our venues. The community excitedly returned to our gathering spaces in great numbers after the collective disconnect of the pandemic—proof of the power of the arts to bring people together and of our fundamental, human need for shared experiences.

We were often reminded of how our community supports and completes the creative process. The art in and outside of our venues is meant to engage our guests, including audiences in our theaters, students in area schools, visitors to the Weston Art Gallery, and more. It is always our wish that these arts experiences will entertain, inspire, and even transform lives.

It takes an extended community of like-minded individuals to make our work as an arts promoter, presenter, and educator possible. As we look back on our twenty-eighth year of the combined operation of the Aronoff Center and Music Hall, we are deeply grateful for the many people and organizations that journey with us year after year to create unforgettable moments: our dedicated Board of Trustees; exceptional resident companies; generous members, sponsors, and donors; gifted artists, designers, and technicians; talented administrative staff; friendly volunteers; and of course, our loyal subscribers and devoted audiences.

We are pleased to present to you our 2023 Report to the Community, which highlights much of our activity during the 2022–23 season. With this report, we celebrate the intersection of the arts and community, including the people, places, and events that pull us together. We hope this Report will ignite memories about why the arts in our region are important to you.

In the early 1990s as President of the Ohio Senate, our dear friend Stan Aronoff advocated for a new arts center in Cincinnati. His dream was that such a venue would build community here and revitalize a declining downtown. Nearly thirty years after the opening of the Aronoff Center, we sincerely believe that this

— Lister Sinclair Playwright, broadcaster, and Renaissance man

namesake venue has fulfilled Stan’s dream, bringing the community together year after year in a thriving and vital entertainment district.

We remain committed to continuing Stan’s legacy by serving as tireless stewards of the Aronoff Center and Music Hall. With the ongoing support of this great community, we look forward to hosting world-class artists and events that continue to shift and change the way we all view life for years to come.

See you at the theater!

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Stephen A. Loftin

Dudley S. Taft

President Cincinnati Arts Association

Chairman, Board of Trustees Cincinnati Arts Association

CAA PRESENTS 2022–23 SEASON

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From music and dance to ghosts and circus performers, our CAA Presents season offered diverse members of our community an eclectic mix of entertainment choices to complement an impressive year of arts and entertainment in the Tri-state.

Audiences were thrilled to be back at the Aronoff Center and Music Hall again for these unforgettable shared experiences.

O C T O BER 5

ARONOFF CENTER – PROCTER & GAMBLE HALL

MasterChef Junior Live!

Fans, families, and foodies alike enjoyed this all-new, high-energy, interactive stage version of the hit culinary TV show, which featured Season Eight Winner, Liya, along with finalist Grayson and favorites A’Dan and Molly in cooking demonstrations and fun (sometimes messy!) challenges.

O C T O BER 2 4

MUSIC HALL BALLROOM

Life with the Afterlife: A Supernatural Evening with Ghost Hunter Amy Bruni The week before Halloween at haunted Music Hall was the perfect time and place for the hair-raising tales from Amy Bruni’s countless hours hunting ghosts at America’s most supernatural locations.

The paranormal investigator and podcaster had audience members questioning what they thought they knew about the spirit world.

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D EC EMBER 2 – 4 ARONOFF CENTER – PROCTER & GAMBLE HALL

Cirque Dreams Holidaze This Broadway-style holiday spectacular dazzled audiences of all ages with a worldrenowned ensemble of aerial circus acts, sleight-of-hand jugglers, fun-loving skippers, breath-catching acrobatics, and much more, accompanied by an original music score that included new twists on seasonal favorites.

N OVEMB ER 15

ARONOFF CENTER – PROCTER & GAMBLE HALL

Black Violin: Give Thanks Holiday Tour Audiences were grateful that violist Wil B. and violinist Kev Marcus returned to Cincinnati for the third time with their distinctive multi-genre sound that is often described as “classical boom.”

The performance featured playful storytelling, whimsical string melodies, and hard-hitting beats to highlight the unifying pillars of the holiday season.

DECEMB ER 2 0

ARONOFF CENTER – PROCTER & GAMBLE HALL

Million Dollar Quartet Christmas A nearly sold-out audience joined music legends Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Elvis Presley as they journeyed through a story of Christmas past, present, and future. The night was jam packed with unforgettable performances of classic holiday hits and favorite chart toppers, including “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” “Blue Christmas,” and many more.

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MAR CH 25

ARONOFF CENTER – PROCTER & GAMBLE HALL

The Simon & Garfunkel Story This immersive, concert-style theater show chronicled the amazing journey shared by the acclaimed folk-rock duo Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. Using state-of-the-art video projection, photos, and original film footage, the show featured a full live band and two remarkable actor-singers performing Simon & Garfunkel’s greatest hits, including “Mrs. Robinson,” “Cecilia,” and “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”

CAA COMMUNITY

MARCH 3 1–APR I L 2

MUSIC HALL – SPRINGER AUDITORIUM

Riverdance—25th Anniversary Show This thrilling new 25th Anniversary production of the beloved international dance and music event mesmerized audiences all over again during five performances. The production’s creative team completely reimagined the ground-breaking show with innovative and spectacular lighting, video, stage, and costume designs, creating an immersive experience of power and grace.

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“Supporting the Cincinnati Arts Association is important to Ameritas because it has a great social impact on the community. Art brings us together, drives creativity, and fosters growth.”

Dave Voelker, Senior Vice President, Individual Operations, Ameritas

ALICE F. AND HARRIS K.

WESTON ART GALLERY 2022–23 EXHIBITION SEASON 6

The Weston Art Gallery’s 2022–23 season was highly successful,

with a continued rebound in attendance. More than 18,000 guests enthusiastically returned to engage in the Weston’s programs after the lengthy period of COVID-19 restrictions on public gatherings. Events previously cancelled due to the pandemic, including the FotoFocus Biennial and BLINK® Festival in October, the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts’ (NCECA) annual conference in March, and the CANstruction® display in May drew thousands, and in the case of BLINK®, millions of visitors to downtown Cincinnati.

The Weston benefited from this public resurgence by presenting programs that connected directly to these events. Michael Coppage’s provocative solo exhibition American+ captivated both FotoFocus and BLINK® audiences.

His fifty-feet-high outdoor vinyl mural (Care Bear), linked to his photographic series BLACK BOX, extended his exhibition from the gallery into the outdoor plaza of the Aronoff. Activated with projection mapping during BLINK®, the mural attracted thousands of visitors during the fourday festival, many of whom ventured inside the Weston to see the full exhibition.

The NCECA Annual exhibition, I Contain Multitudes, was presented at the Weston in conjunction with its annual conference in downtown Cincinnati. More than 3,600 people attended the exhibition during the four-day conference, which included a record-breaking crowd of 1,263 in attendance at the opening reception.

In addition, the Weston kicked off its 2022–23 season with the unveiling of a new logo and refreshed website. The updated site highlights the Weston’s variety of programming, including its outstanding exhibitions, intriguing public Gallery Talks, lively opening receptions, engaging Families Create! workshops, the award-winning Docentitos youth docent academy, the ever-popular CANstruction®, and the ongoing music series featuring the Southbank Quartet.

Responding to an increasingly complex world, the Weston’s featured artists explored pertinent and thought-provoking topics such as social and racial justice, family ancestry and historical mythologies, and personal space and sanctuary.

SEP T EMBER 1 6 – N O V EMBER 6

Michael Coppage: American+ This exhibition of new and ongoing lens-based projects by Coppage (Cincinnati, OH) explored the negative archetypes and stark racial disparities still operating in the language and psychology of contemporary American culture.

SEP T EMBER 2 9 – O C T O BER 3 1

Liz Roberts: Post Blonde An outdoor, site-specific commission

by Liz Roberts (CA—formerly Columbus, OH) was presented in conjunction with the FotoFocus Biennial. Installed in an open lot in the Cincinnati neighborhood of Camp Washington, this uninhabited drive-in tableau featured a series of salvaged car windshields to form a large movie screen.

N O V EMBER 1 8 – J A N U A RY 1 5

Candace Black: Accoutre­ments Black (Columbus, OH) created cast architectural and bodily forms that metaphorically animated the Weston’s street-level exhibition space.

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Steven Thurston: Lost in Translation— Deception and Desire

J A NUA RY 2 0 – MA RC H 5

MA RC H 1 4 – MA Y 7

Joshua Penrose: Shadow Works

2023 NCECA Annual: I Contain Multitudes

Penrose (Columbus, OH) presented a variety of media with sculptural installations informed by the digital domain, including sound, video, light, and digital automation.

Curated by Garth Johnson, the Paul Phillips and Sharon Sullivan Curator of Ceramics at the Everson Museum of Art (Syracuse, NY), this group exhibition of fortyseven ceramic artists from across the United States and beyond was presented in conjunction with the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts annual conference in Cincinnati from March 15–18.

Through an ongoing series of iconic porcelain busts depicting the founding fathers of the United States, Thurston (Columbus, OH) examined translational misunderstanding and conflicting mythologies surrounding the subjects.

MA Y 1 6 – J U N E 4

CANstruction®

Emil Robinson: Evidence Robinson’s (Cincinnati, OH) paintings and sculptures captured a spiritual intensity using light, color, and form in his work to uncover a nobility in objects that reside in his personal environment.

Mary Jo Bole: Family White Elephants Bole (Columbus, OH) explored her family’s industrial history and the lineage of women who preserved it through video, drawings, and sculpture.

Katherine Colborn: Sheltering in Smoke Colborn (Cincinnati, OH) employs painting as a means of quiet resistance. Through her intimate paintings, she reflected upon transience and domestic life, protected spaces, and themes of threshold and sanctuary.

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Organized by the Cincinnati chapters of the American Institute of Architects and the Society for Design Administration, CANstruction® is an international design/build competition of the architecture and engineering industry that benefited the FreeStore FoodBank.

MAY 20–JUNE 4

Weston Works Art Challenge The first annual Weston Works Art Challenge was a community outreach project designed as an upcycling event. Participants created artworks from past Weston marketing materials which were displayed in the Gallery.

depicting the mundane matters of domestic life, translating documented scenes of midlife women examining the effects of time on the body, self-identity, and sexuality.

in her neighborhood through abandoned homes and empty lots resulting from social, economic, and racial disparities.

Anissa Lewis: Open Lots (We All Rise) Through her photographs and immersive video installation, Lewis (Covington, KY) revealed the decline and transformation

Melvin Grier: It Was Always About the Work Grier (Cincinnati, OH) spent over thirty years honing his skills as a photographer working for The Cincinnati Post, documenting news events and people. This survey of his work featured the people and places that captured Grier’s photographic journey throughout his long and accomplished career.

JUNE 16–AUG US T 20

Mychaelyn Michalec: Not to Stifle, but to Clarify Michalec (Dayton, OH) created large-scale textured wool rugs

IN MEMORIAM KATHY Y. WILSON 1965–2022 Writer, Commentator, Art Collector

Kathy Y. Wilson was a truly unique character who enlivened Cincinnati for so many years with her acerbic wit and considerable talents as a writer. Her apartment in Walnut Hills with her amazing floor-to-ceiling art collection, along with her personal collection of racist memorabilia, personified her life. This remarkable space, where she lived with her beloved partner Kandice, was a sanctuary for her writing and musings, which often extended to the very walls that defined it.

We were fortunate to feature her exhibition Sanctuary: Kathy Y. Wilson Living in a Colored Museum in 2017. Organized and curated by her

close friend Emily Buddendeck, it was one of the most memorable exhibitions we have had the pleasure to present in the Weston’s twenty-eight year history.

Kathy was a powerful force who confronted difficult subjects with equal parts veracity and humor, and we will miss her dearly.

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EDUCATION & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT 10

The Cincinnati Arts Association’s Education & Community Engagement (ECE) department is focused on equitable

Pillar Programs (foundational and ongoing) SCHOOLTIME presents national touring performances at our venues that support the academic curriculum.

This program reached 7,401 students and teachers from ten counties and sixty-seven schools with a sold-out capacity for all performances. For the second year, we tracked student demographic data, including the percentage and number of BIPOC students and the percentage and number of students who qualify for free or reduced lunch.

This data displays the diversity of communities our programs reach and our commitment to arts access for underserved populations.

recovery and sustainable growth by igniting, nurturing, and celebrating creativity with passion and dedication. Our ECE programs promote life-long participation in the arts while contributing to individual, organizational, and community well-being.

Since its inception in 1996, ECE has served more than two million youth and adults and continues to seek new opportunities to expand and improve arts engagements for the community.

ECE’s programs and services reached 64,235 persons and contracted seventy-eight regional artists to serve our Tri-state communities during the 2022–23 season—our first year of complete in-person programming since the COVID-19 shutdown in March 2020. This exciting return allowed us to rekindle longstanding community relationships and develop new ones. Our programs supplied much-needed opportunities for community members to reflect upon and recover from pandemic disruptions and trauma, as well as the compounding traumas of systemic poverty, racism, and inequity.

Amidst these barriers, CAA extended its footprint and embarked on new opportunities, including outdoor performances and an afterschool program, Afterschool Expand, that used the arts to help elementary school students learn about their and others’ human needs, emotions, actions, and reactions based on emotional responses.

The program provides training to artists in Social Emotional Learning, Classroom Management, and Trauma Informed Care. During its first season, Afterschool Expand reached 510 students during 5,152 instructional and arts engagement hours.

The program allowed CAA to add forty-two new regional artists to its team.

ARTISTS ON TOUR

secures work for local artists and supplies quality arts engagements for schools and community organizations at their locations, increasing arts access and contributing to the cultural vibrancy of our region. The first season of complete in-person Artists on Tour programming since the pandemic saw a growth of 12% from the 2021–22 season. We reached 15,227 persons serving eighty schools (including twenty-eight for the first time) in fifteen counties throughout the Tri-state.

THE OVERTURE AWARDS recognizes

and rewards excellence in the arts among Greater Cincinnati students in grades 9–12. In its twenty-six year history, the program has awarded $932,500 to support artistically talented students pursuing their dreams, and an additional $51,000 has been awarded to educators and arts programs. During the 2022–23 season, 333 students from fifty-five schools in eleven Tri-state counties competed in the area’s largest solo arts competition across six arts disciplines: creative writing, dance, instrumental music, theater, visual art, and vocal music. A total of 519 youth, volunteers, adjudicators, and audience members were part of the Overtures.

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ARTS IN HEALING INITIATIVE (AIH) is

a non-clinical artistin-residence program with a “Focus on the Art” to serve patients, medical and education staff, youth, and families for improved health and wellbeing. This year, AIH continued programming both virtually and in-person, as COVID-19 still presented health challenges for our medical partners and limits in-person environmental play. During 29,665 arts engagement contact hours, the Arts in Healing Initiative reached 15,878 youth and adults.

64,235 TOTAL REACH— EDUCATION & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Services and Partnerships Ensuring Access Providing access to the arts and our venues for all schools, afterschool programs, senior homes, hospital facilities, and arts organizations is crucial to CAA’s movement towards equity and inclusion in arts engagements. This is the purpose of service programs such as Ticket and Transportation Subsidy, Artists on Tour Grants, The Greater Cincinnati Foundation Aronoff Center Rental Subsidy, Arts in Healing Initiative Participation Support, and our community service committees—Building Diverse Audiences Advisory Committee (BDAAC) and The Greater

Cincinnati Foundation Aronoff Center Rental Subsidy Community Committee.

Program and funding partnerships that support our ECE programs are essential as we return to inperson arts engagements. Through the generosity of these Community Partners, 92% of CAA’s education and community program participants received financial assistance. Our Arts in Healing Initiative and Afterschool Expand engagements have remained 100% free to the partners and persons participating.

CAA’s commitment to strengthening regional creativity and well-being includes partnerships with regional artists.

CAA distributed nearly $294,000 in artist fees and facility support through employment opportunities and training in 2023.

ECE’s arts programming is “with, by, and for” our valued community. Building trust through honesty, humility, honor, and humor, we are always ready to “play” with our engaged partners— audiences, artists, funders, schools, students, medical and social service organizations, and more—to build a wellbeing community. We strive to listen, learn, and explore with those we serve to allow all involved to discover and experience the arts in authentic ways.

CAA COMMUNITY ADALIA POWELL-BOEHNE CAA Teaching Artist

“It is refreshing to be part of CAA’s unique Afterschool Expand program, and my experience has been nothing but incredible and uplifting.

I have found CAA’s support to be unmatched, from providing ample resources for music classes with students to stellar communication.

CAA is an exceptional organization committed to providing outstanding arts programming to the Cincinnati community.”

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“Thank you so much for the opportunity to attend Black Violin. The kids loved it, and I even overheard some kids saying they wanted to learn how to play the violin.”

— Local school teacher

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2022–23

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS 14

SEP T EMBER 2 4 – 2 5

MUSIC HALL – SPRINGER AUDITORIUM

Mahler’s Resurrection Music Director Louis Langrée and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra ushered in the Orchestra’s first full season since the COVID-19 pandemic with Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, Resurrection, joined by massive choral and orchestral forces and a large, in-person audience not seen since March 2020.

O C T O BER 2 5 – N O V EMBER 6

ARONOFF CENTER – PROCTER & GAMBLE HALL

TINA – The Tina Turner Musical Broadway in Cincinnati kicked off its season with a high-energy Broadway smash that brought the story of the Queen of Rock ’n’ Roll to the Queen City. A testimony to Tina Turner’s incredible legacy, TINA gave audiences an uplifting comeback story like no other and a show-ending concert that had everyone on their feet, rollin’ on the (Ohio) river.

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F EBRU A RY 1 4

ARONOFF CENTER – FIFTH THIRD BANK THEATER

Lovefest 2 On Valentine’s Day, Cincinnati Playwrights Initiative presented eight ten-minute plays written by local Cincinnati playwrights.

Proceeds from the sold-out performance benefited the American Heart Association’s centennial celebration. Playwrights were provided written feedback after each play’s performance to help them develop their scripts.

N OVEMB ER 11–1 3

MUSIC HALL – SPRINGER AUDITORIUM

Get Happy: Judy Garland Centennial Michael Feinstein joined the Cincinnati Pops for its 100th-birthday tribute to Judy Garland. The multimedia show included family photos, neverbefore-seen film footage, rare audio recordings of Garland singing, and orchestrations of music from her vast catalog.

F EB R UARY 10–1 9

MUSIC HALL – SPRINGER AUDITORIUM

ALICE (in wonderland) Cincinnati Ballet welcomed thousands of guests to Music Hall for a trip down the rabbit hole into the fantastical world of choreographer Septime Webre’s ALICE (in wonderland). The colorful production featured dancers from the Ballet’s Main Company, Second Company – CB2, and students from its Otto M. Budig Academy.

MA RC H 2 9 – 3 0

MUSIC HALL – SPRINGER AUDITORIUM

CSO Proof: Surrealist el Tropical Choreographer Rosie Herrera, the Rosie Herrera Dance Theatre, video and production designer Clyde Scott, and lighting and production designer Luke Kritzeck partnered with the CSO for the most immersive experience of the season. Conjuring up the sights and sounds of the Havana nightclub scene, Surrealist el Tropical flipped Music Hall upside down, entertaining sold-out crowds to rave reviews.

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AP R IL 14

A P RI L 2 8 – 3 0

MUSIC HALL – SPRINGER AUDITORIUM

MUSIC HALL – SPRINGER AUDITORIUM

Classical Roots

Ragtime in Concert

Internationally renowned gospel music trailblazer Donald Lawrence headlined the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s Classical Roots concert alongside his band, the Classical Roots Community Choir directed

by Jason Alexander Holmes, and the CSO led by conductor John Morris Russell. The program was also livestreamed for thousands of viewers from around the world.

The Cincinnati Pops premiered a new symphonic concert adaptation of Broadway’s Tony Awardwinning musical Ragtime. Directed by Alton Fitzgerald White, the all-star cast included a vibrant array of talent from Broadway veterans who originated roles in the 1998 Broadway production to Cincinnati-based actors, students, and rising musical theater stars from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and the American Spiritual Ensemble.

AP R IL 22

ARONOFF CENTER – JARSON-KAPLAN THEATER

MA Y 5 – 6

Equal/Night

ARONOFF CENTER – JARSON-KAPLAN THEATER

Bible Stories

Exhale Dance Tribe’s (EDT) Spring Concert included premiere choreographic works by Jennifer Rutherford, Madison Welchman, and EDT Artistic Directors Missy and Andrew Hubbard. The evening of dance, on the balance of light and dark, realigned viewers with the cycles of nature.

Revolution Dance Theatre showcased its masterful storytelling with this original ballet from the mind of Producing Artistic Director David Choate. Featuring some of the most exciting tales from the highest selling book in the world, the new ballet mesmerized audiences with its beauty and adventure, including pictured company artists AJ Gross and Garrett Steagall performing “911.”

MA Y 1 2 – 2 0

ARONOFF CENTER – JARSON-KAPLAN THEATER

Kinky Boots Cincinnati Music Theatre’s sold-out run of Kinky Boots was a sensation that inspired audiences by reminding them that people can change the world when they change their minds. Based on a film of the same name, with music by Cyndi Lauper and book by Harvey Fierstein, Kinky Boots showed that we all have more in common than we ever imagined.

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MA Y 2 0

MUSIC HALL – SPRINGER AUDITORIUM

Marin Alsop: American Voices

MAY 13

Conductor Marin Alsop made her May Festival debut with an all-American program that included R. Nathaniel Dett’s The Ordering of Moses, which received its world premiere at the May Festival in 1937, Samuel Barber’s Symphony No. 1 in One Movement and Knoxville: Summer of 1915, and Aaron Copland’s “The Promise of Living” from The Tender Land.

MUSIC HALL

Mums, Mom and Music Hall— an Outdoor Tour of Music Hall The Friends of Music Hall hosted their first themed outdoor tour to celebrate Mother’s Day. Led by FOMH’s knowledgeable guides, this sold-out tour gave moms and their friends an in-depth look at Music Hall’s magnificent structure from top to bottom. Each mom received a gorgeous bouquet of flowers from Gia & The Blooms.

MA Y 2 7

MUSIC HALL – SPRINGER AUDITORIUM

Mahler’s Symphony of a Thousand May Festival Music Director Laureate James Conlon stepped in for Principal Conductor Juanjo Mena to conduct Mahler’s Symphony No. 8, the grand culmination of the May Festival’s 150th Anniversary Season, complete with an epic chorus consisting of the May Festival Chorus, Cleveland Orchestra Chorus, May Festival Youth Chorus, Cincinnati Youth Choir, and Cincinnati Boychoir.

JUNE 2–3

ARONOFF CENTER – JARSON-KAPLAN THEATER

Modern Mix

MAY 17–JUNE 4

ARONOFF CENTER – PROCTER & GAMBLE HALL

Mutual Dance Theatre (MDT)—Cincinnati’s resident modern dance company—delighted audiences with lights, ladders, and luminous dancing. Audience members were on the edge of their seats as dancers leapt off ladders and beautifully whirled around corded lights. MDT impressed audiences with its performance tenacity, picturesque lines, and collective strength as an ensemble.

Moulin Rouge! The Musical The Broadway in Cincinnati season ended with three record-breaking weeks of Moulin Rouge! The Musical, a show that brought the beloved film to the stage with fresh surprises and unparalleled energy. The Broadway hit took Cincinnati audiences to a world of splendor and romance, of eye-popping excess, of glitz, grandeur, and glory, where Bohemians and aristocrats rub elbows and revel. It was a true “spectacular spectacular.”

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JUNE 9–1 8

ARONOFF CENTER – PROCTER & GAMBLE HALL

Bold Moves Festival The Cincinnati Ballet capped off its 2022–23 season with this ambitious Festival, which featured six rotating mainstage productions on two programs with work from world-renowned choreographers including William Forsythe, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, and Val Caniparoli, among others. The Ballet was also proud to host a very special Pride Night during the production.

JULY 18–21 MUSIC HALL

Black Tech Week This week-long inclusive conference presented

by Lightship Foundation featured more than one-hundred sessions. Attendees engaged in networking, participated in technology-based discussions, attended educational programs, and forged investor connections. Highlights included Kickstarter CEO Everett Taylor and a Keynote Session with mogul Issa Rae.

JUNE 23–JULY 7

MUSIC HALL – WILKS STUDIO

The Knock Cincinnati Opera presented the world stage premiere of The Knock, a moving new opera about a group of military wives awaiting news of their husbands, who have been deployed to Iraq. As they wait, a young Army officer makes the long journey to their gathering place to deliver difficult news. The opera received enthusiastic response, resulting in a performance being added to accommodate audience demand.

JULY 22–29

MUSIC HALL – SPRINGER AUDITORIUM

Madame Butterfly Cincinnati Opera closed its 2023 Summer Festival with Puccini’s heartrending Madame Butterfly, which was reimagined from a groundbreaking new point of view by Japanese American director Matthew Ozawa and an all-Japanese, female design team. The dazzling new production offered a poignant and powerful perspective, earning audience ovations, critical acclaim, and a feature in The New York Times.

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OPERATIONS From behind-the-scenes to our

the next thirty years of memories on this new floor.

Music Hall also had a stage makeover with a newly refinished floor in Springer Auditorium. With its lighter, brighter color, it beautifully enhanced the dazzling red of the Pops musicians’ jackets as they opened the season.

The Aronoff Center and Music Hall were two of the local venues for the American Choral Directors Association Conference in February. During this weeklong event, we hosted 11,000 choral directors, more than 1,000 performers, and thirty-plus performances. The Aronoff’s Procter & Gamble Hall and Jarson-Kaplan Theater were turned around for multiple performances no less than twenty-six times in the span of five days. During the week, the operations staff worked nearly 2,000 hours and our tireless volunteers served 900 hours.

At Music Hall, we were thrilled to see the longawaited return of the American Financial Group Holiday Party, this year with musical guest One Republic. The always-exceptional Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and May Festival Chorus were highlighted during music director Louis Langrée’s penultimate season. In December, guests were delighted by one of their favorite holiday traditions—Cincinnati

lobbies to inside our various spaces, members of our operations team collaborate to manage a variety of successful events. This work involves the intersection of many players—event managers, ushers, stagehands, resident companies, artists, audiences, and more. It is an intricate dance, and at its best, it produces magical experiences at our venues. As the 2022–23 season began without any COVID-19 restrictions, our teams were thrilled to welcome the community back to the Aronoff Center and Music Hall to continue the dance.

At the Aronoff Center, the season began with the much-anticipated, four-week return engagement of Hamilton, presented by Broadway in Cincinnati, which played to sold-out audiences. This massive production required thirteen semi-trucks and more than onehundred stagehands to load the show into the theater.

Broadway in Cincinnati’s landmark season included nine tours that filled nineteen weeks.

During the summer, the Procter & Gamble Hall was closed for the replacement of its original stage floor, which has supported thousands of productions since the opening of the Aronoff in October 1995. Removing, replacing, and painting the nearly 8,000 individual planks of red oak lasted ten weeks. We look forward to 20

RESIDENT COMPANIES

ARTS AMBASSADORS

We are proud to be in community with these exceptional local arts organizations that call our venues home and inspire audiences each season.

ARONOFF CENTER

The Cincinnati Arts Association is supported by the efforts of a community of more than 700 active volunteers between the Aronoff Center and Music Hall. Last season, these generous arts ambassadors served 62,500 hours at our venues. The average volunteer donates eightyseven hours of their time each season. There are thirty-five dedicated founding volunteers who have served every year since the Aronoff Center opened twenty-eight years ago. Our volunteer managers have been actively recruiting and rebuilding our volunteer community after experiencing some pandemic-related attrition, and during the 2022–23 season, 101 new volunteers were onboarded.

MUSIC HALL

ARONOFF CENTER/MUSIC HALL Ballet’s The Nutcracker, which included several sold-out performances. Cincinnati Opera presented another very successful and acclaimed summer season, with opera lovers coming to Music Hall from five different countries and forty-five states.

In the middle of the Opera’s season, Music Hall welcomed back Black Tech Week for the second consecutive year. The premier event celebrated Black innovators and entrepreneurs in the tech industry, with nearly two-thousand participants.

The University of Cincinnati Foundation held the Ohio Innocence Project 20th Anniversary Dinner in the Ballroom with more than eight-hundred guests in attendance. This record-setting singleday fundraiser for UC touched the hearts of many, raising a half-million dollars—$200,000 of which came from the dinner alone.

Overall, it was an extremely exciting and busy year at our venues. We saw record-breaking concession sales, six dragons and mythical beasts, an Elvis tribute, a fairy tale wedding, engagement and birth announcement photos sessions, corporate meetings, and much more. We look forward to another year of creating unforgettable memories for our guests.

CAA COMMUNITY MAXINE MOSLEY-MALONE CAA Volunteer

“I’ve been volunteering for eleven months now and love it. I decided to do this because I was retiring and love the arts. I started with Music Hall and then the Aronoff. I didn’t expect the great conversations and to meet so many wonderful people. I just love the diversity, friendly advice, and help I received from the veteran volunteers. I hope I can do this for many years.”

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DEVELOPMENT The 2022–23 season reminded us of

of low-income students provided access to CAA’s education programs. More than 24,000 students were granted subsidies.

• The official launch of our Afterschool Expand program, which partners with eleven local schools and youth organizations and over forty local teaching artists. CAA provided consistent, recurring afterschool arts education and socialemotional learning opportunities to 268 lowincome students.

• The hiring of twenty-four new BIPOC teaching artists who received social-emotional learning and curriculum development training. These pinnacle areas of impact positively affected Afterschool Expand and Artists on Tour programming.

• Our ongoing Arts in Healing Initiative, which supported more than 15,000 community members through partnerships with TriHealth, UC Medical, the VA Medical Center, Hoxworth Blood Center, Hospice of Cincinnati, Make Music Cincinnati, and many more.

what we love most about the arts in Cincinnati: YOU. Your unwavering support allowed us to do what we do best—ensure access to a broad range of high quality performing and visual arts experiences, develop diverse audiences, and foster an appreciation and understanding of the arts.

By investing in the Cincinnati Arts Association, you make a difference in the lives of more than a halfmillion Cincinnatians and visitors to our region each year. Together, we provide joy and change throughout our community and strengthen our connections to each other through shared experiences as audience members and artists. Below are a few of the highlights of what your donations allowed us to provide during the 2022–23 season: • Increased capacity for our in-person education programs SchoolTime and Artists on Tour, which reached over 22,000 students in more than fifteen area counties.

• Ticket, transportation, and Artists on Tour subsidies to schools with the highest percentage 22

Dancing for the Stars Celebrates Fifteen Years Our annual fundraising event Dancing for the Stars celebrated its fifteenth season at Music Hall during a fun-filled evening on April 22. More than 350 guests attended the event, which raised over $70,000 to support CAA’s Overture Awards and arts education programs. Based on the hit TV show Dancing with the Stars, the event paired local Cincinnati notables with local pro dancers to compete for audience support in both their performance and fundraising. The popular dance theme was Disco.

The local stars included David Kapor (Founding & Managing Partner of Kapor, Davis & Associates, LLC), Frank Marzullo (Meteorologist–Fox19 NOW), Diana Nguyen (Owner–Deluxe Nail Salon & Spa), Morgan Angelique Owens (Entrepreneur, Author, Consultant, Speaker, Brand Ambassador), Tom Parker (Director of External Communications–Lindner Center of Hope), Erin Rolfes (Director of Communication and Media Relations–The Kroger Co.), Litsa Spanos (President– ADC Art Design Consultants, Inc.), and Britton Spitler as Brock Leah Spears (Project Manager–ADM).

Britton Spitler and dance pro Amanda Barraza were crowned dance champions, and Litsa Spanos won the Fundraising Champion Award.

Membership More than five-hundredplus CAA Members provided over $185,000 in support for our many programs and enjoyed a variety of benefits including, but not limited to, priority access to Broadway in Cincinnati and CAA Presents ticket presales, a private ticketing line, complimentary concessions and parking, discounts to CAA Presents perfor­mances and other special events, access to the Aronoff Center’s private viewing suite, and special Members’ events.

Thank you for being part of a community that supports the arts through generous gifts of time, talent, or resources; ticket purchases for performances and events; the creation of art in our venues or in the community; and many other ways.

You help us bring our programs to life each day.

CAA COMMUNITY BILL MENSE CAA Member

“As a CAA Member, I enjoy contributing to the incredible arts community in Cincinnati. My membership supports local students in the community, allowing them to experience the arts. Teaching our area’s youth about how the arts benefit them is important to me, and I hope that they will treasure these experiences always. Without the arts, our lives would be so less enjoyable!”

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SUPPORT The Cincinnati Arts Association recognizes and thanks the following individuals, corporations, and foundations for their generous support.

Individual Donors and Members GIFTS OF $5,000 AND ABOVE

Amy Dunlea and Lois Mannon Charles and Mary Harris Drs. Matt and Maggie Hummel Craig and Anne Maier Maribeth and Martin Rahe

Libby and Tony Brock Mr. and Mrs. Keith Carlson

Michael and Wanda Kinzie

MaryAnn Chappelear

James R. Pelphrey

Chris and Daniele Cusentino

Will and Sherrie Potts

Whitney and Phillip Long Ken and Melissa Mailender Timothy Marsh and Jessica Adams Cindy, Nick, and Joey Mazzaro

Jim and Karen Cusentino

Vince DeStefano

Joseph and Kimberly Rippe

Emilie and David Dressler

Dudley and Tina Taft

Elaine and Terry Schroeder

Catherine Gilreath

GIFTS OF $2,500–$4,999

Linda L. Siekmann Jordan Sosna

Gina M. Crowley

Eric and Sharon Vetter

Dr. Allison Ferree-Chavez and Mr. Rob Chavez

Gary and Jane Wenk

Phil and Christy Ochs Claudia F. Vollmer

Susan and James Troutt

Anonymous GIFTS OF $500–$999

GIFTS OF $1,000–$2,499

Karen Acuff and Elizabeth Acuff

Roger and Jan Ames

Tim and Lisa Beckelhimer

Jacklyn and Gary Bryson

James Beering and Lisa Keller

Drs. Jean Elwing and Madhukar Gupta H. Wayne Ferguson and Pamela D. Wiedeman Lori and Bob Fregolle Chris and Melissa Goodwin

Michael Powers and Kathy Muldowney Ronnie and Donna Riddle

Jason and Heidi Fancett

Ms. Carol M. Beyersdorfer

Nima R. Patel

Dr. Alex M. Della Bella and Maria Schrudder

Dr. Robert Rhoad and Kitsa Tassian

April Rockey

Julie and Nate Paszczykowski

Catherine Hogya John and Sue Topits Foundation

Kurtis Finch Jon and Lisa Hall Brent and Mary Hardesty Paulette Homer Laurie F. Johnston Drs. Megan Kessler and Michael A. Thomas Don and Kathy King Kevin and Jackie Kopp Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Lazarus Sean and Tonya Lightfoot Matt McConville and Heidi Snow

Matthew and Stacey Behrensmeyer

William C. and Lynne. M. Mense

Lee and Lori Benmlouka

R & B Merrill

Mr. and Mrs. Mark Berliant

Dr. Karen Meyers and William Jones

Virginia Brezinski

Dave and Diane Moccia

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Robert and Karen Ripp

Camilla Warren Ted and Teresa Werner Barbara Weyand Michael and Katie Wright MAJ Maureen Young, USA (ret.)

The Zelina Family Anonymous (2) GIFTS OF $250–$499

Barry and Pat Ahr

Dennis Schoff and Nina Sorensen

L & S Allen

Sanjay Shewakramani

Angie Apple

John Slawter Clay Slusher and Erika Slusher Timothy L. and Janet E. St. Clair

Perriann Allen Roger and Debbie Benjamin Mr. and Mrs. Rich and Janet Burr

Tim and Barbara Stefl

Stephanie and John Busam

John and Jennifer Stein

Gale Bush

Chris and Meghan Stevens

Dawn Butler

Patrick and Jenni Strausbaugh

Jeff Cagle

Dr. Steve and Rev. Kristie Stricker

Art Crawford

James and Melissa Summers

Vicki and Jeff Davis

William and Nadya Taylor

Marti and Brian Butler Dr. and Mrs. Daniel Choo Kathy and Mike Davis Mike and Katie Denne

David and Barbara Wagner

John and Maureen Doellman

Michael and Carlisa Waldman

Tim and Judy Duffie

Barbara Doviak

Saini Eye Care Tatyana Skorobogat Hayley Smith Marsha Smith, MD, FAAN Dr. and Mrs. Jim Swanson Barbara Teisl Charlotte Thomas Paul and Debi Towle Jeff and Mary Tyler The Vanderwerker Family Varner Foundation Nancy L. Wade

Shelly Woodward Michelle Wright

Punky’s Pixels Summerfair Cincinnati Josh Tilford TriHealth Western & Southern Financial

TriHealth

Fairfield by Marriott Cincinnati Uptown

Kinley Cincinnati L2Source Ohio Valley Wines The Party Source Pepsi Philip Bortz Jewelers

Charles H. Dater Foundation, Inc.

Skyline Chili Street City PubMembership Program Sponsor Thryv (formerly VIVIAL)

Billy and Gail Gillman

Arthur and Stephanie McMahon

Gonzalez-Pineiro Family

Stephen T. Murphy

Hearst Foundations

Josh Goodknight

Alan Naylor Mr. and Mrs. Brian Neal

The Greater Cincinnati Foundation

The Alpaugh Foundation

Nickolette Hackman

The John A. Schroth Family Charitable Trust

CityBeat

Dan and Amy Hein

Mark and Sue Ann Painter

William Hesch, Esq., CPA

Greg and Lori Parente

Mick and Lou-Ann Holtzleiter

Julia and Dan Poston

Kim and Gary Horning Dr. John Lawrence Houk

Jody Corbett and Bill Rellar

Rachel Idzakovich

Brian and Mary Rhame

Jim and Tamie Reckers

Judith L. Imhoff

Mary Richardson

Stephen and Janet Jackson

Jennifer and John Ridge

Ron and Judy Johnson

Nelson Rosario

Jay and Shirley Joyce Msgr. Kurt H. Kemo Edna and Woodrow Keown, Jr. Dr. Kim Victoria Knollman Scott and Lauren Kooken

Geoff Rohdes

The Louise Taft Semple Foundation Ohio Arts Council The Patricia Kisker Foundation Procter & Gamble Skyline Chili Stillson Foundation TriHealth WOW Windowboxes

TriHealth WESTON ART GALLERY

Alice F. and Harris K. Weston Endowment Gale and David Beckett Covent Garden Florist

Skyline Chili Vonderhaar’s Catering WOW Windowboxes

Corporate Members

Joyce and Roger Howe Patricia and Jim King A. M. Kinney, III Kolar Design The LaBoiteaux-Sharp Family Foundation Toni LaBoiteaux

Barbara and Gates Moss

Joey Shelton

Arthur Murray – Cincinnati

Pamela and Lennell Myricks, Jr.

Chad M. Siekman and Family

Doreen Beatrice

Betsy and Peter Niehoff

Bonita Brockert

Ohio Arts Council

Mark and Elizabeth Sippel

Eleanora C.U. Alms Trust, Fifth Third Bank Trustee

Sue Ann and Judge Mark Painter

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DAV (Disabled American Veterans) Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Inc. CORPORATE PATRON GIFTS OF $2,500–$4,999

Blank Rome LLP Castellini Foundation HORAN Imbus Roofing Company, Inc. Rare World Metals Mint

Jeff Thomas Catering

Whitney and Phillip Long

This list includes all gifts received as of August 31, 2023.

Punky’s Pixels

One and Done Mask

Accent on Cincinnati – Joe Rigotti

*Denotes a fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation

New Riff Distillery

Helen and Brian Heekin

Susan and John Lame

Dr. Elizabeth Ruchhoft

Movers and Makers Cincinnati

FotoFocus

THE OVERTURE AWARDS

Anthony Sewell

LaRosa’s, Inc.

CORPORATE FOUNDER

The H.B., E.W. and F.R. Luther Charitable Trust, Fifth Third Bank and Narley L. Haley, Co-Trustees

Dr. Sanford Osher

Harlan Graphics Jeff Thomas Catering

Gifts of $5,000 and above

Bahl & Gaynor Investment Counsel

Amanda Hatton

Vanessa and Rick Wayne

Rhinegeist Brewery

ArtsWave

Mrs. Jana Ogilvie

Veritiv Corp.

ProSource

Maggie Kuhn

Dr. Stewart M. and Janice E. Harris Jr.

Sara M. and Michelle Vance Waddell

EDUCATION

Mr. Barry Kuhn

Marvel Gentry Harmon

Elizabeth Stone

Prime Cincinnati, Ticket Office Sponsor

Mandy Fabry and Matt Wleklinski

Kathy Fromell

Skyline Chili Dee and Tom Stegman

Tri-State Chevy Dealers

Joanne and Robin Estes

Mary Beth Martin and Ken Oswald

Mu Sinclaire and the Sinclaire Family Foundation

Garnish Catering

CityBeat

CAA Sponsors

Procter & Gamble*

Marilyn J. Scripps

The Cincinnati Herald

Jeff Ruby’s Culinary Entertainment

Local 12WKRC-TV

Liz and Steve Scheurer

CAA Preferred In-Kind

Heidelberg Distributing Company

Fifth Third Bank

Kathy Sackett

altafiber

Anonymous (5)

Ameritas Life Insurance Corporation

Ellen and Ward Maresca

Jozsef Parragh

21c Museum Hotel Cincinnati

Carol and Rich Wilson

Devon Maggio

The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation

Sharon and Rich Werner

The Wirtz Family

Daniella and Wayne Fisher

Jeremy Mainous

CAA PRESENTING

Jean and Kurt Whitford

Tom and Kathy Fischer

Maura Garuccio

Andrea Waugh Mike and Mary Jo Whelan

Michael F. Lykins

Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Inc.

CORPORATE BENEFACTOR GIFTS OF $1,500–$2,499

Prologis CORPORATE FRIEND GIFTS OF $1,000–$1,499

AlphaMark Advisors Contractors Choice Inc. North American Properties Peck Hannaford and Briggs Westside Animal Hospital Our thanks also to our Associate Level Members.

We have made every effort to be as accurate as possible in compiling our list of donors. If your name has been incorrectly listed or omitted, contact our Development Department at (513) 977-4112. Please accept our apologies for any errors.

2022–23

FINANCIALS OPERATING FINANCIAL STATISTICS 26

BY THE NUMBERS $25.1M

2022–23 SEASON

OPERATING REVENUE

ATTENDANCE

Rental.........................................................21%

ARONOFF CENTER....................................... 418,114 MUSIC HALL.................................................... 256,013

Stagehand and other reimbursements.... 23% Concessions and commissions................ 14%

TOTAL ..................................................................674,127

Ticket sales..................................................5% Ticketing services......................................17% Contributions and endowment earnings................................ 14%

EVENTS

Federal pandemic grants............................2%

ARONOFF CENTER................................................. 333 MUSIC HALL.............................................................. 339

Other............................................................4%

TOTAL............................................................................ 672

136,654 $22.7M

TOTAL TICKETS SOLD THROUGH CAA TICKETING SERVICES *

77% OPERATING EXPENSES

TICKETS SOLD ONLINE

Operational payroll................................... 25%

84%

Administrative payroll................................11%

TICKETS DELIVERED VIA MOBILE

Building related........................................ 13%

Stagehands............................................... 20% Administrative..............................................8%

* Annual CAA ticket sales total does not include Broadway in Cincinnati subscriptions or tickets sold by the Cincinnati Ballet, Cincinnati Opera, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, and May Festival.

Education.....................................................4% Weston Art Gallery.......................................2% Presenting...................................................6% Other..........................................................11% 27

Administration Stephen A. Loftin President Brenda A. Jones Executive Assistant

Human Resources

Van Ackerman Vice President, Marketing & Communications

Courtney A. Craig Human Resources Assistant

Curtis L. Trefz Graphic Design/ Marketing Manager

Erin Fannin Office Coordinator

STAFF

Finance & Information Systems Benjamin T. Reece Vice President & Chief Financial Officer Robert L. Hall, Jr. Controller Kendra R. Best Accountant – Operations DeLisa J. Bracy Accountant

Weston Art Gallery Dennis Harrington Director, Weston Art Gallery Vanessa P. Holmes Assistant Director Sylbester K. Yeo Exhibition Preparator

Krystalyn S. Goodson Payroll & Accounting Specialist

Benjamin E. Vetter Vice President, Ticketing Services

DEBORAH A. MORGAN

Brian N. Geisler Information Technology Support Technician

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Shelbey E. Phillips Digital Marketing Manager

Ticketing Services

Thomas J. Huber Director of Information Technology

When Deborah joined CAA in January 2010, she quickly reenergized our development efforts and increased CAA’s donor base, memberships, sponsorships, and fundraising. She created many significant partnerships and relationships in the community that continue to support CAA and its programs.

Deborah led the efforts to dramatically grow our largest and most successful fundraising event, Dancing for the Stars, which benefits CAA’s Overture Awards and arts education programs. Since its inception in 2007, the annual event has raised more than one million dollars.

Deborah is deeply and warmly respected and admired by our staff, trustees, and sponsors. Although we cannot adequately express how much Deborah will be missed, we are very grateful for the time, talents, and dedication she has given us. We wish her all the best in her retirement!

Chloe A.L. Otterback Videographer/ Photographer

Darrell E. Frye Accounting Specialist

THANK YOU Vice President, Development, 2010–2023 (retired)

Marketing & Communications

Brenda A. Carter, SPHR Vice President, Human Resources

Jennifer L. Schalk Benefits/HR Administrator

CINCINNATI ARTS ASSOCIATION

Lindsay N. Wielonski Education & Community Engagement Program Coordinator

Development Sarah C. Miller Vice President, Development Jacob Bajwa Associate Director, Development Laura J. Gerhold Individual Giving Manager

Matthew E. Burton Senior Manager, Guest Relations Teresa M. Myers Senior Manager, Client Relations Micaela S. Evangelista Senior Manager, Broadway Ticketing Michael E. Sawan Ticketing Systems Manager Hannah R. Martin Client Relations & Presenting Specialist

Madison G. Smith Grants Coordinator

Melissa L. Lyons Client Relations Specialist

Amanda S. Ross Administrative Assistant & Project Coordinator

Megan E. Ulrich Client Relations Specialist

Education & Community Engagement Joyce M. Bonomini Vice President, Education & Community Engagement Jared O’Roark Afterschool Expand Program Director

Laurel M. Ellis Call Center Supervisor Chloe Basel Guest Relations Supervisor Jordan J. Stinson Guest Relations Supervisor

Operations

Ryan N. DuPree Community Programs Manager

Todd J. Duesing Vice President & Chief Operating Officer

Emily K. Spooner Youth & School Programs Manager

Odayues D. Leonard Director of Safety & Security

TRUSTEES

Aronoff Center

Music Hall

Bridget Rosella Benton General Manager – Aronoff Center Jennifer M. Picone Senior Event Manager Emma C. Garry Event Manager Scott Slucher Event Manager Raneboe H. Maul Rentals Manager Grace A. Miller House Manager Charles E. Lock Concessions & Hospitality Manager Mykayla E. Kroeger Volunteer Manager Megan E. Vormbrock Administrative Coordinator Elam J. Mechley Technical Director Jonathan Chevalier Head Carpenter

Molly McGraw General Manager – Music Hall

Michael K. Meuche Audio Engineer Bleu Pellman Production Technician Steven J. Schofield House Electrician Bryan C. Fisher Chief Engineer Joseph E. Miller Maintenance Technician Barry Guggenheimer General Maintenance Technician Cory C. Baldwin Safety & Security Coordinator Karessa K. Helton Security Associate Gary D. Jenkins Security Associate Michael S. Montegna Security Associate Joseph D.R. Parsley Security Associate Brenda G. Kelsor Custodial Services Manager Tyrone Robinson Lead Custodian Torino L. Middlebrook Custodian Parish J. Denham Custodian Larry North Custodian Paula A. Young Custodian

Helen T. Kidney Senior Event Manager Richard V. Endres Event Manager Angela G. Sandmann Event Manager Bethany Troendly Rentals Manager

Officers

Board of Trustees

Dudley S. Taft Chairman Maribeth S. Rahe Vice Chair Otto M. Budig, Jr. Treasurer Carol M. Beyersdorfer Secretary Richard L. Kiley Special Vice President Jeanette Altenau Special Vice President, Community Relations Stephen A. Loftin President Benjamin T. Reece, CPA Vice President & Chief Financial Officer

Laura A. Carr Robert S. Chavez J. Stephen Dobbins Matthew J. Geerlings Marvel Gentry Harmon Toilynn O’Neal Turner

Emeritus Edward G. Marks

Ex-Officio Mayor Aftab Pureval Current as of August 31, 2023

Kaitlyne C. Jones House Manager Christopher R. Jackson Concessions & Hospitality Manager

IN MEMORIAM

Spenser W. Smith Concessions & Hospitality Coordinator

PHILIP J. SCHWORER, 1955–2023

Hope R. Holman Volunteer Manager

Lawyer, Dancing for the Stars 2009 Champion, Cincinnati Arts Association Trustee, Arts Supporter

Alynn T. Rousselle Administrative Coordinator Thomas G. Kidney Technical Director Kevin W. Eviston House Electrician Paul D. Stafford Head Carpenter Jeffrey R. Enderle Chief Engineer Paul Sweet General Maintenance Technician Ray L. Toepfert, III Building Engineer Charita Schiele-White Safety & Security Coordinator Patrick W. Berus Security Associate Angela M. Felts Security Associate Lamar L. McRae Security Associate Tony Dees Custodial Services Manager Terra N. Ruff Lead Custodian Airel Seeback Lead Custodian Shawn A. Booker Custodian Winifred B. Freeman Custodian Kevin C. Ruwe Custodian

Current as of December 31, 2023

We celebrate the life of Phil Schworer, an environmental attorney who danced his way into the hearts of all of us at CAA who had the pleasure of knowing him. We are grateful for his passionate support over the past fifteen years as he helped us build our Dancing for the Stars fundraising legacy. From winning the dance competition in 2009 and serving as a vital member of the event’s planning committee for more than a decade, to joining CAA’s Board of Trustees, his positive energy and caring influence will be felt for years to come. Phil will be dearly missed.

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ARONOFF CENTER FOR THE ARTS 650 Walnut Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202 • (513) 721-3344

MUSIC HALL 1243 Elm Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202 • (513) 744-3344

WWW.CINCINNATIARTS.ORG Photos: Karen Adams, Exhale Dance Tribe, Friends of Music Hall, Philip Groshong, Manuel Harlan, Hiromi Platt Photography, Keoni Keur, JP Leong, Mark Lyons, Roger Mastroianni, Mark D. Motz, Matthew Murphy, Mutual Dance Theatre, Chloe Otterback, Colin Peterman, Tyler Secor