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- The Telegraph’s New Owner Wants an “AI-Powered” Paper
Good Morning,
Axel Springer, the German publisher of Politico and Bild, told staff at London’s Telegraph on Friday that the paper will become “a global, AI-powered premium media and intelligence business.” Insiders expect up to 100 jobs to go, with the culture and sports desks hit hardest, and the new revenue list (video, audio, puzzles, events, licensing, commerce) names no arts coverage (The Guardian). It leads because a culture desk is being cut in the same announcement that promises AI.
Ann Powers argues that “Is it real?” has become music’s central question, from AI tracks flooding streaming services to country star Stella Lefty’s “Boston” borrowing the chorus of Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season.” Her historical point is that earlier fakery panics, from Ry Cooder’s digital 1979 album to Paula Abdul’s vocals, were ways of saying “stay out.” (NPR).
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has $45.5 million in cash and a projected $79 million budget, and owns most of Downtown’s theatres. It says it is “not a funder”. Meanwhile Pittsburgh Public Theater and Pittsburgh CLO have merged and the opera and ballet are cutting Downtown dates (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). It matters beyond Pittsburgh because it shows what a regional market gets when its biggest institution exists to bring people Downtown.
Michelle Terry leaves Shakespeare’s Globe at the end of 2027 after a decade of holding the £5 ticket, and calls theatre “the most necessary of AI-proof art forms” (What’s On Stage).
All of our stories below.
- First Word Of The Year For 2026 Is Here: Dictionary.Com Selects “Maxxing”
“’Maxxing” rose through the cultural lexicons of Gen Z and Gen Alpha quickly, ‘and now works as a noun, verb, adjective and adverb all at once. Leveling up your workout routine? ‘Gymmaxxing.’ Your personal care practices? ‘Healthmaxxing,’ an umbrella term that covers numerous subgenres, including ‘proteinmaxxing’ and ‘fibermaxxing.’” – CBS News
- Scientists Figure Out How That Mysterious Ancient Roman Cup Changes Color
“Depending on where a light source is positioned, the Lycurgus Cup changes colour, from jade green under normal lighting to ruby red when lit from behind – a feat of optical engineering that has confounded historians and glassmakers for centuries. Now scientists from the University of Sheffield have replicated its optical behaviour.” – The Guardian
- Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Is A Juggernaut. So How Does It Work?
Things are going so well for the Trust that, in recent years, it has made some of the tinier theater spaces it owns and manages available free of charge to individual artists and small arts organizations. And yet, mentioning the Cultural Trust to some Pittsburgh artists can bring a wince. – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
- Lincoln In Opera — A Different Portrait
The composer Missy Mazzoli and the librettist Royce Vavrek, one of the hottest creative teams in opera, conjure a darker, more conflicted president in “Lincoln in the Bardo,” which premiered on Oct. 19 at the Metropolitan Opera. – The New York Times
- AI Will Upend Culture. How Should AI Companies Be Regulated?
What should the government do? We asked a panel of experts to assess the risks A.I. presents and the tools of governance that could be adopted to address them. – The New York Times
- Study Upends Understanding Of How Language Works
A groundbreaking study challenges 70 years of assumptions about how human language works. By analyzing billions of word uses, scientists discovered that meaning is organized around power, danger, and order rather than emotion alone. – ScienceDaily
- Layoffs At UK Newspaper The Telegraph As Owner Aims To Make It “AI-Powered Business”
“Staff were told the title would rely increasingly on technology, data and AI to ‘reinvent the reader experience’. Newsroom insiders said they expected as many as 100 people to lose their jobs.” The move comes four months after The Telegraph was acquired by German media conglomerate Axel Springer. – The Guardian
- Soprano Martina Arroyo, 90
Arroyo, who has died aged 90, was one of the generation of black American opera singers – others were Marian Anderson, Leontyne Price, Shirley Verrett and Grace Bumbry – who in their early careers faced institutionalised racial prejudice before achieving international recognition. – The Guardian
- The Elvis Estate Sues Anthropic For Copyright Violation
“The Elvis plaintiffs bring this action to enforce these exclusive rights against the defendant that has built its entire business model based on copyright infringement at a scale never seen before,” the lawsuit said. – The New York Times
- Why Has The Bayeux Tapestry Become A Pop Culture Hit?
In the first hour that the second round of tickets to view the tapestry were available last Wednesday, payments from Monzo cardholders to the British Museum reached £14,100 and were 48 times that of a normal Wednesday morning. More than half (55%) of those buyers were aged under 35. – The Guardian
- A Civil War Inside Netflix
“Increasingly, tensions have flared between the L.A.-based executives dedicated to movies and TV shows and its engineers and technologists in Silicon Valley. Internal disputes have erupted over how best to expand the business and promote content on the platform to boost audience engagement.” – Los Angeles Times (MSN)
- We’re Enhancing Real Life as a Cinematic Experience
The result is that cinematic, as a descriptor, now connotes not a break from regular life but an enhancement of it. – The Atlantic
- Critics Pan Elon Musk’s AI Version Of “The Odyssey”
Xavier Collins, the co-founder of Wonder Studios, said the first episode was made in less than two weeks with a creative team of three, including the US-based director Dev Walker. It is understood to have cost tens of thousands of dollars. – The Guardian
- Why Does Music Feel So Fake Right Now?
“Is it real?” That’s the most pressing question in music right now, and it’s one that feels impossible to adequately answer, in almost any context. Mainstream pop, seemingly falling out of fashion though it still fills stadiums and streaming playlists, is riddled with stories of chicanery and poison artifice. – NPR
- Meet ABT’s Youngest-Ever Choreographer
Brady Farrar, now 21, is still recognized by some fans from his six-week appearance on Dance Moms when he was 14. He entered ABT as an apprentice in 2024 and joined the corps last year but began choreographing at age 15. His Trio Élégiaque, commissioned by ABT, debuts this week. – The New York Times
- Fort Worth Symphony CEO Keith Cerny To Depart In January
“Cerny, who has led the orchestra for eight years, will depart after a tenure that included the hiring of Music Director Robert Spano, navigating the COVID-19 pandemic without cutting musicians’ and staff members’ pay or benefits, and a major push to expand the orchestra’s board and donor base.” – CultureMap Fort Worth
- Shakespeare’s Globe Artistic Director Michelle Terry To Step Down Late Next Year
“During her (decade) in the role, more than 2,000 actors will have worked with the organisation across 77 productions, which are expected to have been seen by more than 2.3 million people from over 190 countries by the end of her tenure.” – WhatsOnStage (UK)
- Perot Museum Of Nature And Science Plans $185 Million Expansion
“Plans include a five-story parking garage, a new arrival pavilion, a dedicated area for school bus drop-offs, a pollinator garden and a paleontology garden. This will double the amount of square footage that the museum has dedicated to exhibits, but now outside the building.” – KERA (Dallas)
- Center Theatre Group Partners With YMCA To Bring Theater All Over Los Angeles
The program, called “Every Age, Every Stage,” will include free workshops led by theater professionals at local Y branches, mentorship in stagecraft, design and production for young adult members, and free tickets to select mainstage performances. – Los Angeles Times (MSN)
- Staffers At V&A Museums In London Suspend Strike Plans
“The strike was suspended on Monday pending last-minute talks with the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, after the V&A management made an improved offer.” – The Guardian
- Walter Koenig, Who Played Chekov On The Original “Star Trek,” Has Died At 90
“The son of Jewish immigrants from Lithuania, Mr. Koenig was a journeyman on stage and TV who developed a specialty in ethnic parts. He was a Swedish businessman in the sitcom Gidget and a French resistance fighter on the drama series Jericho … before he joined Star Trek in 1967.” – The Washington Post (MSN)
- When the People Who Deliver the Mission Start to Feel Like the Mission
This one is hard to write.
Over dinner a while back, a colleague I affectionately call my “sister from another mother” and I kept circling a pattern that is difficult to name without sounding ungenerous. We kept starting sentences and abandoning them, because every version seemed to insult people we both admire. But the pattern is real, it is showing up in some of the best orchestras and opera companies in the country right now, and I think it explains why so many of this fall’s labor fights have been so bitter. So let me try to do this carefully.
In some cultural organizations, the people closest to the mission start to be treated as the people the mission is for. Once that happens, almost any structural change becomes impossible to discuss, and right now our sector cannot afford to avoid structural change.
I am not saying artists are selfish or entitled. The players, actors and singers I have in mind are usually the opposite: trained for decades, paid less than their skill would earn almost anywhere else, and more devoted to the work than anyone else on the payroll (including, very often, the CFO). No arts organization ever votes to redefine its mission around its own roster. It just stops asking who the art is for, and over time that question gets answered by default.
Centrality and Ownership
Program centrality and program ownership are different things. In the symphony world, for example, musicians are the people through whom an orchestra’s mission is delivered, and that deserves to be honored in the budget, the schedule and the boardroom. The trouble starts when an institution begins acting as though the mission exists for its musicians rather than through its musicians for someone else.
In most of the nonprofit world this confusion never takes root because the beneficiary is obvious. A caseworker at a family shelter knows exactly whom the work is for. There may be fierce internal arguments about strategy or staffing, but nobody confuses the staff with the families.
Cultural organizations are more complicated, and let’s be real about why this is the case. Without musicians there is no concert. The people delivering the program are central to the institution’s identity in a way that is not true of a food bank or a shelter.
But consider this asymmetry within the same tax-exempt status. A food bank that loses its staff is still a food bank, and the people who depend on it will still be hungry tomorrow. An orchestra without its musicians is an empty hall, and the audience will find something else to do with its Saturday night. Which brings me to the audience.
Audiences Can Walk Away
The National Endowment for the Arts’ most recent Survey of Public Participation in the Arts found that the share of American adults attending at least one arts event fell from 53.8 percent in 2017 to 47.9 percent in 2022. Classical music attendance fell from 8.6 percent of adults to 4.6 percent over the same five years, close to half. (Attendance at other live performances, which the NEA counts in a catch-all category, rose from 15.0 to 21.2 percent over the same period, so Americans kept going out, less often to hear us.) Theater tells a similar story: TCG’s most recent Theatre Facts found nonprofit ticket income in 2023 still 29 percent below 2019 after inflation, with attendance down 22 percent over TCG’s four-year trend period.
A food bank’s beneficiaries cannot walk away from their need. An orchestra’s beneficiaries can walk away from the orchestra, and the data says many of them already have. Cultural institutions therefore have less room for mission confusion than a social service agency does, because their beneficiaries are, in effect, volunteers.
Musicians are the engine of the institution, and any leader who treats them as a cost line deserves the resistance they get. An orchestra’s mission exists for its audience, and beyond the audience, for a public that will outlive all of us.
A Fall of Strikes
The San Francisco Opera orchestra struck in September, cancelling five performances including opening night. Management described a $15 million annual shortfall on an $87 million budget and a $30 million draw on the endowment, roughly 10 percent of the fund. Musicians said management’s opening proposal cut their pay by 26 percent, and tax filings reported by the San Francisco Standard show the general director’s compensation had risen 72 percent. Cleveland Orchestra musicians struck for three days after warning that unfilled vacancies put the orchestra’s standing at risk, Boston Symphony musicians voted to authorize what would have been the first strike in the orchestra’s 145-year history after the board declined to renew the music director, and Minnesota Opera’s orchestra authorized a strike ahead of its season opener. San Francisco Symphony is barely a year past a settlement that followed its music director’s departure over the board’s cuts to tours, commissions and education concerts.
San Francisco Opera’s numbers show why both sides dug in. A $15 million gap on an $87 million budget is 17 percent of the entire operation. A 10 percent endowment draw is roughly double the rate most institutions treat as sustainable, which means every year at that pace shrinks the fund that is supposed to cover the next gap.
Some of the musicians’ complaints in these disputes were fair, and some of management’s process was clumsy (a 72 percent raise for the general director did management no favors at the bargaining table). But I read a great deal of coverage this fall about artistic excellence, talent vacancies, base compensation and tenure process, and very little about the question that ought to decide these fights: what does this city’s audience need from its orchestra right now and more importantly over the next twenty years, and what has to change for the institution to keep providing it?
Leadership Owns Half of This
I’ll start with myself. As a CFO, I have been the executive who walked into a room talking about money before meaning.
Executives and boards create this dynamic by talking about margins before mission and by treating artists as an obstacle rather than as partners. When the only language leadership speaks fluently is financial, musicians learn to hear every proposal as a threat to their livelihood, because in their experience it usually is. Mission confusion takes two to tango: leaders who have stopped articulating who the institution serves, and artists who have stopped hearing themselves described as anything but a cost.
The closer people are to the sacred center of an institution, the easier it is for them to experience structural change as betrayal. That is an occupational hazard of caring deeply, and it would be strange if a principal cellist with thirty years in the section did not take a restructuring personally. But much of what our field calls defending the mission turns out to be defending the org chart, and the two deserve separate arguments.
The Faculty Parallel
The arts have company here. Tenured faculty are the people through whom a college delivers its mission, and their academic freedom deserves fierce protection, but when every proposal to change the academic program is heard as an attack on the institution’s soul, the college stops asking what students need, and students, like audiences, can walk away.
Listening Outward
Researchers who study mission drift, including a study of two social enterprises in the Journal of Business Ethics, have documented how organizations can drift away from the people they were built to serve. The best evidence I know of for the alternative comes from Listen4Good, which helped more than 1,250 nonprofits and government agencies systematically collect feedback from the people they serve; in an evaluation of its first four years, 81 percent of participants made at least one change as a result. That falls well short of proof that listening to audiences saves orchestras (“made a change” is a low bar), but it is evidence that organizations which listen outward do change.
A Test for the Next Negotiation
So here is a test I would put on the table at the start of every restructuring, contract negotiation or season redesign, and I would ask musicians, managers and trustees to answer it together. Who is this decision for? What does the audience lose if we change, and what does it lose if we don’t? Does this protect the music, or the current structure of the people making it? Will this institution still be able to serve this city in 2040? If every side answers the first question with the audience, the rest of the argument gets far more productive, even when it stays painful.
The healthiest arts organizations treat their artists as stewards of the mission rather than its owners. Their expertise should shape strategy, their pay should be protected as fiercely as the budget allows, and their voice belongs in artistic planning, which the Boston musicians just won. But the final test of any decision is whether it strengthens the institution’s ability to serve the audiences and the public for whom it exists, and for whom it receives its tax exemption.
- American History, the American Arts, and the Uses of Historical Fiction
- Vice President for Advancement, Aspen Music Festival and School
Aspen Music Festival and School (AMFS) welcomes applications and nominations for the position of Vice President for Advancement.
About Aspen Music Festival and School
http://www.aspenmusicfestival.com
The Aspen Music Festival and School is widely recognized to be among the finest classical music centers for performance and education both nationally and internationally. Presenting more than 300 musical events during its eight-week summer season, AMFS draws leading classical musicians from across the world for a rich combination of performances of orchestral works, opera, chamber music, recitals, contemporary music, works by new or previously unrecognized voices, popular genres, family events, and talks, competitions, and classes.
Over seven decades, AMFS’s magic has been in the combination of seasoned professionals and youth as colleagues and co-inspiring forces. AMFS Alumni fill every corner of the music world today, performing in orchestras, as soloists, singing, composing, conducting and teaching. AMFS continues to create, educate, and inspire.
In 2026, more than 450 students participated in orchestra, opera, chamber music, piano studies, classical guitar, composition, and conducting studies. Students came to Aspen from 40 U.S. states and 40 countries to play in three orchestras, sing, conduct, compose and study with artist-faculty members from the leading professional ensembles, conservatories, and schools of music in North America and across the world. In 2027, in addition to recitals and concerts by an array of major artists, highlights will include a concert performance of Wagner’s Das Rheingold and opera presentations of Kevin Puts’ The Hours and Bizet’s Carmen.
A deep commitment to Aspen itself and the surrounding communities is reflected in the many events in and around the Klein Music Tent that are free to the public during the summer season. From Fall to Spring, AMFS engages young audiences with popular in-school and after-school music programs throughout the Roaring Fork Valley. AMFS is a leader among Aspen’s extraordinary group of cultural and humanistic non-profit organizations such as the Aspen Institute, the Anderson Ranch Arts Center, the Wheeler Opera House, and Theatre Aspen.
AMFS is governed by a Board of 51 dedicated and engaged Trustees. Alexandra Munroe is Board Chair. Meghan Martineau Umber began her tenure as President and CEO on October 1, 2026. The year-round staff of 38 expands to 105 in the summer. The summer faculty includes 130 distinguished artists from around the world. Robert Spano is Music Director, and Renée Fleming and Patrick Summers are Co-Artistic Directors of the Opera Theater and Vocal Arts program.
AMFS’s FY 27 operating budget is $23.5 million. At the successful conclusion of the current campaign, the $120 million endowment will have grown to $175 million.
The Opportunity
The next Vice President for Advancement will join AMFS as Meghan Umber becomes the Festival and School’s seventh President and CEO. The VP will be a key member of AMFS’s new executive leadership team as they build on AMFS’s remarkable legacy as a thought leader in the arts and on the considerable accomplishments of Alan Fletcher who recently concluded his twenty-one-year tenure in the role.
The next VP will have the opportunity to bring a major fundraising campaign, Aspen Promises, to a successful conclusion. The VP will participate actively in envisioning and planning the next decade of growth and development for AMFS and in designing new opportunities for increased philanthropic support. The VP will have the opportunity to inspire both new and existing donors to discover the value, importance, and sheer joy of investing in the future of music through the Aspen Music Festival and School.
The Position
Reporting to the President and CEO, the Vice President for Advancement creates, articulates, and executes strategic fundraising plans to support the Festival and School’s artistic mission, vision, and growth as AMFS builds upon its operational base of philanthropic support.
The VP for Advancement ensures that AMFS achieves and exceeds its annual fundraising goal, currently at $10 million, for contributed income from individuals, corporations, foundations, and government agencies. Working with the President and CEO, the next VP for Advancement will drive the successful completion of the Aspen Promises campaign, currently at $85 million, to reach and surpass its $92 million goal in support of the current strategic plan.
The VP for Advancement partners with the President and CEO to recruit, engage, and support an active Board of Trustees who are significant individual donors as well as ambassadors and advocates for AMFS throughout the country and the world. The VP provides impetus and support to the fundraising work of the CEO and the Board, and takes an active role in the cultivation, solicitation, and stewarding of individual and institutional donors. The VP ensures that AMFS’s planned giving program provides opportunities that address potential donors’ interests and concerns.
The Vice President for Advancement recruits, supervises, and motivates a high-performing development team of six full-time and three summer staff members. The VP ensures that the systems and protocols are in place to provide accurate recording, prompt acknowledgement, and appropriate stewardship of all gifts.
The VP is a member of the executive leadership team, which includes the Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, VP for Marketing and Communications, VP for Artistic Administration, VP and General Manager, VP for Education and Community, and VP and Dean of Students.
The Vice President for Advancement is a visible, active, and articulate representative of AMFS in the Aspen community and throughout the country. While based in Aspen, the VP must be able to travel as needed to meet with current and potential donors.
Candidate Profile
The successful candidate will be an experienced fundraising professional who combines a love of music and music education with a deep respect for philanthropy and a track record of success in achieving and exceeding significant goals for annual fund, endowment, capital, and special projects fundraising. The ideal candidate will have demonstrated experience closing major seven-figure gifts. Experience working with a national and/or international board and donor base will be considered an asset.
The successful candidate will fully embrace and articulate AMFS’s institutional vision, mission, strategic initiatives, and overriding commitment to excellence. The VP will be able to speak and write persuasively about AMFS to a diverse community of stakeholders in Aspen, throughout the country, and throughout the world. The candidate will have a passion for connecting and building strong relationships with existing and potential donors.
The successful candidate will have demonstrated the ability to work effectively with a CEO and a volunteer Board of Directors to achieve fundraising goals. The candidate will be an effective supervisor who is willing and able to mentor staff in order to build a strong fundraising team and instill a sense of responsibility for fundraising throughout the organization.
The successful candidate will be creative, curious, and flexible. The VP will have the ability to manage multiple priorities and competing deadlines with grace and good humor. The successful candidate will be a person of high integrity and ethical standards who has a deep respect for philanthropy and a strong belief in the intrinsic value of music and music education.
The successful candidate will welcome the opportunity to become an active part of the greater Aspen community and to enjoy the incomparable natural beauty of the Rocky Mountains. While the VP will be expected to travel throughout the year, this is a full-time position based at the AMFS offices in Aspen and cannot be done remotely.
Compensation and Benefits
The salary range for this position is $240,000 to $260,000 based on qualifications and experience. AMFS offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes:
- Full employee medical, dental, and vision insurance coverage
- $25,000 life insurance policy
- Option to put aside money pre-tax for health and dependent care expenses
- Pre- or post-tax retirement plan with company match after two years of service
- Medical expense reimbursement plan to offset the insurance deductible
- Cash health and wellness benefit
- An employee assistance program
- Paid holiday schedule of 18 days
- Paid vacation of 13 days the first year that grows up to 26 days after five years
- Paid sick time of 15 days per year
- Season pass to the festival plus one guest
- Aspen Chamber discount on ski passes
Applications
Aspen Music Festival and School welcomes recommendations, nominations, and applications from all qualified candidates regardless of race, sexual orientation, gender expression, age, disability, religion, ethnicity, or national origin.
We ask that applicants submit a letter that speaks to their specific interest in the AMFS VP position and their professional qualifications as described in the position specifications. Please include a resumé and contact information for at least three references. All applications will be treated as confidential, and references will not be contacted without the applicant’s prior agreement.
Electronic submissions in Adobe Acrobat PDF format are requested. Please send to:
Vice President for Advancement – Aspen Music Festival and School
c/o Catherine French Group
applications@catherinefrenchgroup.com - State Theatre New Jersey seeks Chief Advancement Officer
Position Summary
The Vice President of Development is State Theatre New Jersey’s senior architect of philanthropy, leading the strategy, relationships, and revenue generation that power the theatre’s artistic, educational, and community impact. As STNJ’s lead major gift officer and a key member of the executive team, this leader will shape an ambitious, integrated development program that expands donor engagement, grows contributed income, and strengthens long term financial sustainability within a $12-14 million operating budget.
Working closely with the President & CEO, senior leadership, and the Board of Trustees, the Vice President of Development will drive major giving, annual fundraising, membership, corporate and foundation support, and signature events. They will cultivate high capacity donors, energize Board participation, and open new philanthropic pathways that elevate STNJ’s visibility and deepen its connection to the community.
Overseeing the full development portfolio, this executive will ensure that every campaign, relationship, and donor experience reflects excellence, clarity, and purpose. The role calls for a bold, strategic, relationship driven leader who thrives on building momentum, inspiring generosity, and securing the resources that propel STNJ’s mission forward.
Organization
State Theatre New Jersey (STNJ) is the largest nonprofit arts presenter in Central New Jersey. Located in New Brunswick, STNJ seeks to enrich the lives of people from diverse backgrounds and contribute to a vital urban environment by presenting national and international performing artists, providing arts education programs, and maintaining a major performing arts venue that encourages a lifelong connection with the performing arts. Its programming spans Broadway, dance, orchestral and popular music, comedy, jazz, international performances, family programming, school performances, and sensory-friendly experiences.
Originally built in 1921 as a silent film and vaudeville palace, the State Theatre was designed by architect Thomas Lamb and remained active into the 1960s. Following a period of decline, the venue was restored for live performance and reopened as a performing arts center in April 1988. In 2021, as part of its 100th anniversary, STNJ completed another major renovation that included renovated lobbies and restrooms, upgraded HVAC systems, a new elevator providing access to all levels, and new theater seating. Since its reopening, STNJ has welcomed more than six million audience members.
Today, STNJ presents a broad season of performances built around its Broadway, Orchestra, Family, and Dance series, along with comedy, rock and pop, orchestral pops with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, jazz, international programming, school performances, free summer movies, and sensory-friendly performances. They are also committed to making arts experiences affordable and accessible, working with community partners to provide free and subsidized admission to performances and education programs for members of the region’s diverse communities.
Education and community engagement are central to STNJ’s work. Its programs reach thousands of students, teachers, families, and community members each year through performances, workshops, artist residencies, and other activities. School programs include Performances for Schools, sensory-friendly performances, and Symphony Scholars, while community offerings include artist residencies, the Milk & Cookies series for young children, free summer movies, and other accessible programming. STNJ also works with community engagement committees composed of local leaders to strengthen relationships with New Jersey’s diverse communities and expand participation in the performing arts.
STNJ is governed by a 14-member Board of Trustees, chaired by Wendy L. Wiebalk, Esq., and Sarah K. Chaplin serves as the President & CEO. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, STNJ reported a total revenue of $13.6 million, with 16% from contributions, 75% from program services, 3% from investments, and 6% from other revenue sources.
Sources: edited from stnj.org; propublica.org
Community
New Brunswick, New Jersey, is a diverse Central Jersey city known for its historic character, university presence, healthcare institutions, cultural amenities, and active downtown. Home to Rutgers University, the city combines the energy of a major research university with a history dating to the colonial era and a walkable downtown centered around dining, entertainment, civic activity, and the arts. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates New Brunswick’s 2025 population at 57,133, with 23.4% of residents age 25 and older holding a bachelor’s degree or higher. Reflecting the city’s diverse population, 57.4% of residents age five and older speak a language other than English at home. The City describes New Brunswick as both the “Hub City” and the “Healthcare City,” reflecting its role as a regional center where education, healthcare, business, culture, and community life intersect. As the county seat of Middlesex County, New Brunswick also serves as the administrative and civic center for one of New Jersey’s most populous and economically active counties. Middlesex County’s government, courts, and public services are headquartered in the city, reinforcing New Brunswick’s role as a regional anchor for public administration, community services, and cultural investment.
Arts, culture, recreation, and public space contribute significantly to New Brunswick’s quality of life. The downtown cultural landscape includes the State Theatre New Jersey, New Brunswick Performing Arts Center, George Street Playhouse, Crossroads Theatre Company, American Repertory Ballet, Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts, and the Zimmerli Art Museum, while VisitNJ highlights the city’s approximately 15-block downtown for its concentration of restaurants, performances, and historic sites. New Brunswick also maintains more than 272 acres of parks, playgrounds, athletic fields, lawns, and gardens. Major public spaces include the 78-acre Buccleuch Park, with athletic facilities, trails, gardens, and the historic Buccleuch Mansion, and the 20-acre Elmer B. Boyd Park along the Raritan River, which provides riverfront views, paths, recreation, and space for festivals and community events. State Theatre New Jersey, owned by Middlesex County, reflects the County’s longstanding commitment to cultural vitality and public access to the arts. Its presence in downtown New Brunswick underscores the County’s investment in strengthening the region’s creative economy, supporting cultural organizations, and enhancing the quality of life for residents across all 25 municipalities. Together, New Brunswick’s educational institutions, cultural organizations, historic resources, parks, and downtown amenities create an active urban community with strong connections among arts, education, recreation, and civic life.
Sources: edited from cityofnewbrunswick.org; visitnj.org/city/new-brunswick; census.gov
Role and Responsibilities
Fundraising Strategy and Oversight
- Lead the development and implementation of annual fundraising and membership campaigns, in coordination with Development staff, that attract philanthropic support for State Theatre New Jersey and advance contributed income goals.
- Personally identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward individual prospects ($10,000+) and donors across all giving levels, with particular emphasis on developing major gift opportunities and building and sustaining long term philanthropic relationships.
- Develop and oversee solicitation strategies to engage new and recurring individual and major gift donors, ensuring a strong pipeline and consistent, donor centric engagement.
- Create and enhance strategies for renewed and new corporate, small business, and private foundation support, and participate in solicitations when appropriate to deepen institutional partnerships.
- Provide strategic leadership and oversight of annual fundraising events, ensuring alignment with revenue goals, donor engagement, and institutional visibility.
- Collaborate with the Vice President of Marketing and the Director of Communications and Community Engagement to ensure agreed upon donor and community centric messaging is aligned with Development activities.
- Embrace other fundraising strategy and oversight responsibilities as needed.
Board Liaison
- Partner with the President & CEO and the Board of Trustees Development Committee Chairperson to create and implement a strong Board giving program, empowering Board members as ambassadors for State Theatre New Jersey.
- Work with the Development Committee Chairperson and committee members to support all Development activities, including annual giving, membership, business sponsorship, and fundraising events.
- Provide Board members with the tools, messaging, and strategic guidance needed to effectively advocate for STNJ’s mission and fundraising priorities.
- Embrace other Board liaison responsibilities as needed.
Management of Development Activities and Staff
- Supervise and mentor Development staff, ensuring accountability to individual Development plans and goals, and fostering a culture of collaboration, professionalism, and results.
- Oversee the implementation of gift solicitation strategies at all levels, ensuring consistency, effectiveness, and alignment with institutional priorities and donor capacity.
- Maintain adherence to the Development budget, monitoring revenue and expenses to support responsible financial management and long term sustainability.
- Provide strategic guidance and problem solving support for Development staff when operational challenges or donor/member issues arise.
- Collaborate with senior leadership and cross departmental partners to integrate Development activities into broader organizational strategies and initiatives.
- Embrace other management of Development activities and staff responsibilities as needed.
Traits and Characteristics
The Vice President of Development will be a persuasive, people centered, and results driven fundraising leader who brings initiative, clarity, and strong relationship instincts to State Theatre New Jersey. A natural communicator and collaborator, they will promote ideas, rally support, and inspire action across donors, staff, board members, and community partners. Resilient and goal oriented, they will navigate challenges with confidence, maintain momentum, and drive contributed revenue growth through strategic focus and practical judgment.
Resourceful and personally accountable, this leader will manage multiple priorities with discipline, anticipate donor needs, and steward relationships with diplomacy and care. Competitive in spirit and energized by closing gifts, they will thrive in fast moving environments, adapt easily to varied stakeholders, and strengthen the systems and team culture that support sustainable advancement.
Other key competencies include:
- Teamwork and Diplomacy: The ability to collaborate effectively, communicate with clarity and tact, and navigate diverse perspectives to support shared goals
- Resiliency and Personal Accountability: The capacity to remain steady through challenges, adapt constructively, and take responsibility for actions, decisions, and outcomes.
- Time and Priority Management and Goal Orientation: The aptitude to organize tasks, balance competing demands, and maintain focus on achieving meaningful objectives with consistency.
- Customer Focus: The commitment to understand and anticipate stakeholder needs, delivering responsive, thoughtful, and service oriented engagement.
Qualifications
A bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience and seven or more years of progressively responsible nonprofit fundraising experience, including major gifts, are highly desirable. Demonstrated success in leading development functions, paired with three or more years of management experience, is important. Strong interpersonal, cultivation, organizational, and problem solving abilities are essential, along with the capacity to manage multiple priorities, deadlines, and donor relationships in a fast paced environment. Proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel and Word, and experience using data analysis to inform donor and prospect strategies are valuable, as is familiarity with volunteer Boards of Trustees and Development Committees.
Knowledge and appreciation of the performing arts, experience with Tessitura or similar CRM systems, and comfort with reporting software and utilities are advantageous. The role also calls for the ability to work weekday, evening, and weekend hours as needed to support performances, events, and donor activity.
If you do not meet all the qualifications but possess transferable or equivalent skills, experience, or education, we encourage you to apply and highlight those areas.
Compensation and Benefits
STNJ offers a comprehensive compensation and benefits package, including an annual salary range of $135,000 to $160,000, commensurate with experience. Relocation assistance may be available.
Applications and Inquiries
To submit a cover letter and resume with a summary of demonstrable accomplishments (electronic submissions preferred), please visit https://artsconsulting.com/opensearches/state-theatre-new-jersey-seeks-vice-president-of-development/
Equal Employment Opportunity and Inclusion
State Theatre New Jersey is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive workplace that values diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences. We welcome applications from qualified individuals of all backgrounds and make employment decisions without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.
- When Dancers Handed Out “Stop Talking” Cards
Good Morning,
At the Houghton festival this summer, clubbers handed out cards reading “The Dance Floor Is For Dancing,” with a diagram of EQ curves on the back showing where vocals sit above the bass. The DJ Jane Fitz had started the argument with an Instagram post asking people to stop chatting through sets (The Guardian).
The conductor John Mauceri and the Columbia linguist John McWhorter argue in Broadway in Black and White that one blue note carries humiliation in Fats Waller’s “Black and Blue” and delighted discovery in the Gershwins’ “How Long Has This Been Going On?” (The New Yorker).
About 60 percent of music streamed in the first half of 2026 was five or more years old, according to the data firm Luminate, and Zara Larsson’s “Lush Life,” from 2015, is the UK’s eighth-biggest hit of the year (BBC). So why are we listening to older music?
The owners of Elvis Presley’s catalog sued Anthropic on Friday over 274 songs, asking $150,000 for each (The New York Times). The Wu-Tang Clan’s one-copy album, sold in 2015 to Martin Shkreli for a reported $2 million, now belongs to PleasrDAO, a crypto art collective that says streaming it would make it “another album” (ARTnews).
All of today’s stories below.
- Streaming Music Is Dominated By Old Music. Why?
In the first half of 2026, almost two thirds of the music played (about 60%) was released five or more years ago. So, if we’re stuck in a streaming rut, what’s to blame? – BBC
- Billionaire Tech Nerds And Their Investment In Ending Democracy
As Trump’s behaviour became increasingly authoritarian—openly defying laws, targeting his enemies with prosecutions, dispatching troops into Democratic cities, and turning US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) into a shock force to terrorize immigrant communities—many in Silicon Valley cashed in on the action. – The Walrus
- Does The California Gold Rush Teach Us Anything About The Rush To AI?
In 1849 alone, more than forty thousand people travelled overland to California, while roughly the same number headed there by sea. – The New Yorker
- Why The Broadway Musical Survives
Yet the Broadway musical persists, in its wholly impossible format, imposing eight big singing shows a week on its stars, which is, as any veteran will tell you, one of the most brutal workloads possible for a performer—and, when it occurs in long-running shows, mostly invisible as a personal triumph. – The New Yorker
- Has Substack “Fixed” Writing On The Internet?
The company is, in essence, a crowdfunding e-commerce site, belonging to the same category as Kickstarter, Patreon, Gumroad, and OnlyFans. But it has out-evolved its ancestors and bested its competitors in its relevance to public discourse and in its direct commodification of online parasocial relationships. – The New Yorker
- Wu-Tang Clan’s Historic Blunder Selling A Single Recording
- As The National Ballet Of Canada Turns 75, It Demonstrates Both Artistry And Guts
But “is it a Canadian ballet company or just a first-rate ballet company based in Canada?” – The New York Times
- Eric Bauza, Emmy-Winning Voice Actor And Heir To Mel Blanc At Looney Tunes, Has Died Suddenly At 46
Recently, “the Canadian actor outdid himself with Coyote vs. Acme, voicing everything from Bugs Bunny to Foghorn Leghorn and Tweety Bird.” – The Hollywood Reporter
