The National Jazz Museum in Harlem ("NJMH") is pleased to announce its new leadership team, effective immediately. Christopher L. Perry has joined NJMH as its new Executive Director, and Loren Schoenberg, who formerly served as the organization's Executive Director for 10 years, will continue with NJMH in his new role as Artistic Director.
According to NJMH's Board Chairman Arthur H. Barnes, “After ten years of sequential growth, we have reached the point where our operational and development efforts were in need of new and dynamic leadership. We held our candidates to a very high standard, and Chris Perry was our unanimous choice to assume this opportunity. He comes with a distinguished background, and we welcome him with open arms to our family, while looking forward to a bright and successful future."
Mr. Perry is an accomplished nonprofit executive with broad experience in legal services and all aspects of management for mission-driven nonprofit organizations. He is a results-oriented and decisive leader with a track record of implementing organizational improvements to maximize mission impact while increasing fundraised revenue and reducing costs. He formerly served for five years as the Executive Director for Boys Hope Girls Hope of New York, an inner-city boarding school program for disadvantaged youth, and he most recently served as Executive Director for College Summit New York, a national organization that builds the capacity of urban public schools to dramatically increase the college enrollment rate of students from low-income communities. In addition to his wealth of nonprofit management experience, Mr. Perry is also a New York State licensed attorney and formerly practiced law for 10 years in Manhattan. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Skidmore College, a Juris Doctorate from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, and a Master's degree in Nonprofit Management from the Milano Graduate School of Management & Urban Policy at New School University.
A historian by nature, Mr. Schoenberg became a fixture in the jazz world with his encyclopedic knowledge about the genre and passion for preserving its past while making it eminently contemporary. He performs, conducts, writes, and teaches. Loren has recorded with Benny Carter, Jimmy Heath, Benny Goodman, John Lewis, Marian McPartland, Buck Clayton, Bobby Short and Christian McBride. He has taught at the New School, the Manhattan School of Music, William Paterson University, SUNY/Purchase, the Essentially Ellington Band Director's Academy in Snowmass, CO, The Julliard Evening School, and Long Island University.
Mr. Perry expressed that, “The National Jazz Museum in Harlem preserves, promotes and presents jazz music, which I am deeply passionate about, and which, to my mind, is an integral thread in the fabric of American history. I am truly honored to have been selected to join the leadership team as Executive Director of the Museum. I look forward to working with our passionate and committed Board of Directors, our Artistic Director, Loren Schoenberg, and all of our valued employees and volunteers to bring the museum to the next level in its organizational development."
Mr. Schoenberg also welcomes Mr. Perry aboard: “This is a moment we have been planning for years, and Chris's welcome addition to our staff will give me more to time to further refine and improve our burgeoning programming. Christian McBride, Jonathan Batiste and I will continue to look for the very best ways to spread the joy of jazz around Harlem and the world." The National Jazz Museum in Harlem is dedicated to being the foremost home for jazz in the world. Vibrant collections, programs and performances will stimulate creativity and excitement about the past, present, and future of jazz and its artists. Permanent and high quality collections, exhibits and education programs will present the vitality and diversity of jazz from its inception early in the 20th century into the future. An extensive library and robust archives will serve as a renowned international center for research. The National Jazz Museum in Harlem celebrates the African roots of jazz, its origins in America, its history in Harlem and elsewhere, and its influence from and on people throughout the world.
Mission Statement
The National Jazz Museum in Harlem preserves, promotes, and presents jazz by inspiring knowledge, appreciation and celebration of jazz locally, nationally and internationally.
According to NJMH's Board Chairman Arthur H. Barnes, “After ten years of sequential growth, we have reached the point where our operational and development efforts were in need of new and dynamic leadership. We held our candidates to a very high standard, and Chris Perry was our unanimous choice to assume this opportunity. He comes with a distinguished background, and we welcome him with open arms to our family, while looking forward to a bright and successful future."
Mr. Perry is an accomplished nonprofit executive with broad experience in legal services and all aspects of management for mission-driven nonprofit organizations. He is a results-oriented and decisive leader with a track record of implementing organizational improvements to maximize mission impact while increasing fundraised revenue and reducing costs. He formerly served for five years as the Executive Director for Boys Hope Girls Hope of New York, an inner-city boarding school program for disadvantaged youth, and he most recently served as Executive Director for College Summit New York, a national organization that builds the capacity of urban public schools to dramatically increase the college enrollment rate of students from low-income communities. In addition to his wealth of nonprofit management experience, Mr. Perry is also a New York State licensed attorney and formerly practiced law for 10 years in Manhattan. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Skidmore College, a Juris Doctorate from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, and a Master's degree in Nonprofit Management from the Milano Graduate School of Management & Urban Policy at New School University.
A historian by nature, Mr. Schoenberg became a fixture in the jazz world with his encyclopedic knowledge about the genre and passion for preserving its past while making it eminently contemporary. He performs, conducts, writes, and teaches. Loren has recorded with Benny Carter, Jimmy Heath, Benny Goodman, John Lewis, Marian McPartland, Buck Clayton, Bobby Short and Christian McBride. He has taught at the New School, the Manhattan School of Music, William Paterson University, SUNY/Purchase, the Essentially Ellington Band Director's Academy in Snowmass, CO, The Julliard Evening School, and Long Island University.
Mr. Perry expressed that, “The National Jazz Museum in Harlem preserves, promotes and presents jazz music, which I am deeply passionate about, and which, to my mind, is an integral thread in the fabric of American history. I am truly honored to have been selected to join the leadership team as Executive Director of the Museum. I look forward to working with our passionate and committed Board of Directors, our Artistic Director, Loren Schoenberg, and all of our valued employees and volunteers to bring the museum to the next level in its organizational development."
Mr. Schoenberg also welcomes Mr. Perry aboard: “This is a moment we have been planning for years, and Chris's welcome addition to our staff will give me more to time to further refine and improve our burgeoning programming. Christian McBride, Jonathan Batiste and I will continue to look for the very best ways to spread the joy of jazz around Harlem and the world." The National Jazz Museum in Harlem is dedicated to being the foremost home for jazz in the world. Vibrant collections, programs and performances will stimulate creativity and excitement about the past, present, and future of jazz and its artists. Permanent and high quality collections, exhibits and education programs will present the vitality and diversity of jazz from its inception early in the 20th century into the future. An extensive library and robust archives will serve as a renowned international center for research. The National Jazz Museum in Harlem celebrates the African roots of jazz, its origins in America, its history in Harlem and elsewhere, and its influence from and on people throughout the world.
Mission Statement
The National Jazz Museum in Harlem preserves, promotes, and presents jazz by inspiring knowledge, appreciation and celebration of jazz locally, nationally and internationally.
For more information contact Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services.
