Wintergreen
Nelson County, Virginia
Wintergreen Performing Arts (WPA) is pleased to announce that Julianne Akins has been selected as WPA’s Executive Director, effective May 1, 2016. This newly created leadership position results from a recent reorganization at WPA. Ms. Akins will be responsible for executing the administrative vision of WPA, working collaboratively with WPA Artistic Director Dr. Erin Freeman, the WPA staff, and the WPA Board of Directors to ensure the smooth operation and continued growth of WPA and its Wintergreen Summer Music Festival and Academy. In announcing the selection, Dale Weigel, President of the Board, said: “After concluding a thorough national search, we are delighted to welcome Julianne Akins to Wintergreen Performing Arts. She comes to us from the Richmond Symphony with a wealth of knowledge in the operation, business development, and marketing of artistic, especially classical music, organizations.”
Ms. Akins will be responsible for office administration, corporate and individual donor development, marketing, and relations with Wintergreen Resort, Wintergreen Property Owners Association, and local government. She will support and work collaboratively with WPA’s core of dedicated volunteers.
Ms. Akins most recently served as Business Development Manager for the Richmond Symphony. Prior to that position, she was the Symphony’s Patron Services & Sales Manager and Operations Manager. She earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Richmond and a Bachelor of Music, Music Performance, degree from The Ohio State University. In addition to her work in arts administration, Ms. Akins is a freelance musician who plays the tuba. As David Fisk, Executive Director of the Richmond Symphony, stated: “The Richmond Symphony has appreciated our various points of connection with Wintergreen Performing Arts over the years, including this new development: Julianne Akins has been a valued member of the Richmond Symphony management team since 2010, having – most unusually – had the skill-set to work in a number of different areas in her time here: orchestral operations, patron services, corporate relations and government advocacy. That broad base of arts management experience will serve her very well in this new executive leadership role: we wish her and WPA every success.”
About Wintergreen Performing Arts, Inc.: Wintergreen Performing Arts, Inc.
(WPA) is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization located at Wintergreen Resort, Virginia’s beautiful Blue Ridge Mountain destination southwest of Charlottesville. It has enjoyed 20 continuous, successful years of operation since its founding in 1995. It produces the Wintergreen Summer Music Festival, launched in 1997, an extraordinary month-long experience held each July. Boasting a fully professional orchestra and distinguished guest artists from around the country, the Festival attracts first-rate musicians who are consummate performers and educators. The presentation of symphonic and chamber music is at the core of WPA’s mission, but its offerings also include jazz and solo concerts; informal educational classes, seminars, and workshops for a variety of ages; visual and literary arts; dance and theater performances; and culinary arts classes and wine tastings. WPA also presents the annual Blue Ridge Mountain Music Fest each August. Important to WPA’s mission are its educational and community engagement initiatives. The Wintergreen Summer Music Academy, held in conjunction with the Festival, draws talented young musicians from across the country in stringed instruments, vocal performance, conducting, and composition of classical music. WPA also offers life-enriching outreach programs for the Nelson County Public Schools and others living in the surrounding area. WPA welcomes visitors and residents alike to share in this unique Wintergreen experience. For more information, call (434) 325-8292 or visit WPA’s website at www.WintergreenPerformingArts.org.
