The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington appointed Deborah F. Rutter as next president. Ms. Rutter currently serves as the President of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association and will assume her Kennedy Center duties on September 1, 2014. She will serve as the Kennedy Center’s third president, following Michael M. Kaiser who will step down from the position on August 31, 2014.
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is located on the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Inaugurated in September 1971, it produces and presents theater, dance, ballet, orchestral, chamber, jazz, popular, and folk music, in addition to multi-media performances for all ages. It is the busiest performing arts facility in the United States and annually hosts approximately 2,000 performances for audiences totaling nearly two million.