NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) — New Music USA Board, a music advocacy organization aimed at fostering the creation and promotion of music in the United States, announced the hiring of Vanessa Reed as president and CEO.
Reed succeeds former CEO Ed Harsh, who left New Music USA in 2018 to work as a senior staff member of the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music and to take on an independent book project. Interim CEO Deborah Steinglass will continue to serve in that role until Reed assumes the permanent position in August 2019.
Reed comes to New Music USA after serving the United Kingdom’s PRS Foundation, the nation’s leading charitable funder of new music and talent development, where she served the organization’s chief executive for the past 11 years.
During her time at PRS Foundation, Reed oversaw significant growth for the organization that resulted in increases to composer, songwriter, and artist support and the creation of a wide array of new national and international programs and partnerships.
During her tenure at PRS Foundation, she also founded Keychange, a campaign aimed at encouraging gender balance in music programming and she served as a board member of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and chair of Sound UK Arts
Her work with the foundation and other organizations led to her being recognized with awards such as the Royal Philharmonic Society Award for New Music Biennial 2017, Hospital Club’s Innovation Awards, She Said So’s Alternative Women Power List, a fellowship from Leeds College of Music, Music Week Women in Music Awards Roll of Honour, and being named as the third most influential woman in music on BBC Woman’s Hour Music Power List 2018 (after Beyoncé and Taylor Swift).
“I believe that music, like every art form, deserves specialist resources and advocates that offer support, build new connections, and create a better future for its creators, practitioners, and audiences. That’s why I’ve loved every minute of my time at PRS Foundation in the UK and why I’m excited to be taking up this post at New Music USA, which plays a crucial role in supporting and connecting America’s many talented and diverse new music communities. I look forward to joining the New Music USA Board and team in New York later this summer,” Reed said of her new gig.
