PRESS RELEASE | FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | 05/11/2025

AN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR FENIMORE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

Fenimore Chamber Orchestra is pleased to announce the engagement of Lee Edward Koonce as Executive Director. Mr. Koonce served as President and Artistic Director and later as Senior Advisor of Gateways Music Festival from 2016 to 2024. He later chaired the Festival’s Artistic Programs Committee until 2015. He has been a member of the Festival’s board of directors since 1997, a testament to his long-standing commitment to its mission and growth. 

From 2004 to 2015, Mr. Koonce held executive leadership roles at three of New York City’s most respected cultural institutions: Opus 118 Harlem School of Music, Third Street Music School Settlement—the nation’s oldest and largest community music school—and Ballet Hispánico. Across these organizations, he led transformative initiatives to strengthen board governance, expand and elevate programming, grow endowments, implement long-term strategic plans, boost enrollment, and develop high-performing management teams. 

Before relocating to New York City, Lee Koonce served as Executive Director of Sherwood Conservatory of Music and as Director of Community Relations for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. At the Chicago Symphony, he led the development and implementation of programs designed to expand the Orchestra’s reach within diverse communities. Under his leadership, the Chicago Symphony launched A Time to Engage—a comprehensive, organization-wide community engagement plan. In addition to overseeing external initiatives, Mr. Koonce also guided internal efforts to increase diversity across the Chicago Symphony’s entire ecosystem, including musicians, trustees, staff, volunteers, audiences, and artistic programming. 

He earned a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish Literature from Oberlin College, and a Master of Music in Piano Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music. Musical America’s named Lee Koonce one of the nation’s Top 30 Professionals in 2023 and he received the League of American Orchestras’ prestigious Gold Baton Award in 2024. His additional honors include the Legacy Award from the William Warfield Scholarship Fund (2025) and the Award for Outstanding Achievement from the National Association of Negro Musicians (2024). In 2025, he will receive the University of Rochester’s esteemed Frederick Douglass Medal.

For additional information, contact Fenimore Chamber Orchestra Board Chair, Thomas Wolf at twolf@fenimore-orchestra.org.