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| Vanessa Reed |
For 11 years, Vanessa Williams had significant impact on the British classical music scene as chief executive of the PRS Foundation. But since 2019, she has been President and CEO of New Music USA, a New York based national resource which supports music creation and performance across the US. The good news is that she is now bringing her expertise back to the UK and taking over as chief executive of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society, taking up the position in June this year. As such, she will lead an organisation that includes Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Company, and an extensive learning and community programme.
During her time at the PRS Foundation, Williams tripled its resources for organisations, composers, songwriters and artists by introducing a suite of national and international programmes including the Momentum Music Fund, created in partnership with Arts Council England (2013), New Music Biennial, which began as a programme of commissions for the UK’s Cultural Olympiad (2012), and Women Make Music, which was set up in response to the gender gap in music.
In 2017, she initiated Keychange in collaboration with Musikcentrum Öst in Sweden and Reeperbahn Festival in Germany, a programme that sets out to challenge gender imbalances in the music industry and create a global movement for diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.
Williams already has significant links to Liverpool. She was a board member of Royal Liverpool Philharmonic between 2016 and 2019, was an Ambassador for the University of Liverpool and collaborated with Liverpool City Council to support emerging musicians. Her love for Liverpool stems from her father who studied law at Liverpool University in the 60s, loved the Philharmonic Hall, and inspired her and her family to support one of the city’s football teams.
She is married to a Liverpudlian, Eddie Berg who founded the Foundation for Art and Creative Technology (FACT), a Liverpool-based agency for the exhibition, support, and development of artists’ film, video, and new media projects.
Full details from the Liverpool Philharmonic’s website.
