{"id":5810,"date":"2026-06-04T14:46:05","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T18:46:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/pianomorphosis\/?p=5810"},"modified":"2026-06-04T14:46:05","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T18:46:05","slug":"gary-dunning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/pianomorphosis\/2026\/06\/gary-dunning.html","title":{"rendered":"Gary Dunning"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

My introduction of Gary Dunning<\/a> at New England Conservatory\u2019s Commencement ceremony on Sunday May 17, 2026. He received an honorary degree.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let me speak of Gary Dunning who has spent decades reminding Boston \u2014 and reminding this country, demonstrating \u2014 that the arts are not a luxury. They are a lifeline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gary Dunning has led one of Boston\u2019s most admired cultural institutions for 15 years \u2014 first as president and executive director of the Celebrity Series of Boston, and most recently as the guiding force behind its transformation into Vivo Performing Arts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the way, this afternoon, I have something unusual\u2026 It\u2019s annoying actually. I have \u2014 it\u2019s rare \u2014 I have a split personality. Or, perhaps, there\u2019s a Gary Dunning whisperer here? The guy\u2019s aware, it seems, of all the artists that have been presented in Boston during Gary Dunning\u2019s years here. <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

You bet I am. And I will just lead off with Andras Schiff (who played the piano right here on this stage), and Richard Goode (right here on this stage), and Isaak Perlman, and Ren\u00e9e Fleming, and\u2026Fritz Kreisler, Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Maria Callas\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

OK, but wait a minute, those last three names \u2014 Rachmaninoff? \u2014 that must have been a long time before Gary Dunning arrived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where was I? I\u2019m back, to tell you that before he<\/em> was in Boston, Gary Dunning served as executive director of the American Ballet Theatre, the Houston Ballet, and New York\u2019s Big Apple Circus. Decades of service to the arts. Decades of showing up for artists, for audiences \u2014 and for communities that often feel the stage isn\u2019t for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, you know, in Boston, he presented Maurizio Pollini, and Deborah Voight, and David Sedaris, and Joshua Bell. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ok. I believe it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under Gary Dunning\u2019s leadership, the Celebrity Series launched the Debut Series, created Stave Sessions, that bring contemporary music to unexpected places. The Neighborhood Arts program was built, bringing free performances to many in this city. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And when Gary Dunning realized that his organization\u2019s name was an obstacle to its mission \u2014 the word \u201ccelebrity\u201d was getting in the way \u2014 he didn\u2019t wait for someone else to fix it. He oversaw a complete rebranding, launching Vivo Performing Arts just this past January. That\u2019s a mark of a leader: knowing when to build. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Any more from the whisperer?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, he presented Chick Correa, and Herbie Hancock, and the Berlin Philharmonic. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeah, ok. Gary Dunning\u2019s done a lot. He led a capital campaign that tripled his organization\u2019s net assets. He championed equity, and accessibility. He introduced more than 350 first-time featured acts \u2014 artists making debuts in Boston. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gary Dunning said: \u201cWhether on a stage or in a neighborhood park, live performance is what we do, and the place where creativity comes alive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boston has been alive because of Gary Dunning. President Kalyn, it is my honor to present Gary Dunning for the honorary degree \u2014 Doctor of Music.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My introduction of Gary Dunning at New England Conservatory\u2019s Commencement ceremony on Sunday May 17, 2026. He received an honorary degree. Let me speak of Gary Dunning who has spent decades reminding Boston \u2014 and reminding this country, demonstrating \u2014 that the arts are not a luxury. They are a lifeline. Gary Dunning has led […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5815,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5810","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/pianomorphosis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5810","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/pianomorphosis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/pianomorphosis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/pianomorphosis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/pianomorphosis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5810"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/pianomorphosis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5810\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5819,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/pianomorphosis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5810\/revisions\/5819"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/pianomorphosis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/pianomorphosis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5810"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/pianomorphosis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5810"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/pianomorphosis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5810"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}