For Immediate Release
June 22, 2021

Contact: Mary McGowan: (518) 962-2400
admindir@meadowmount.com

Westport, NY – Meadowmount School of Music, the preeminent summer training ground for great string players founded by legendary violin pedagogue Ivan Galamian announced the appointment of Mark Hayman as Executive Director effective June 7, 2021.

Mark Hayman is a musician and seasoned arts executive with over thirty years of experience in the music world focused on emerging artists. As former Executive Director of the renowned non-profit artist management Young Concert Artists, he developed and promoted the careers of extraordinary young musicians for decades alongside founder Susan Wadsworth. During his long tenure, Young Concert Artists’ programs and activities blossomed to include a composer program, live international auditions and festivals, expanded concert presentations in New York and Washington, D.C., creative high profile collaborations, and substantially increased fundraising.

Based in northern Italy in the mid-2000’s, Mark served as Artistic Director of Salvi Harps, Director of the Victor Salvi Foundation and the Museo dell’Arpa Victor Salvi, Director of Lyon & Healy Hall in Chicago, and was the founding Executive Director of the Cartagena International Music Festival in Colombia.

“We are absolutely thrilled that Mark is coming to Meadowmount. He is a dynamic and creative leader with deep experience in the development of young artists.” said Meadowmount Board President Earl Carlyss, famed violinist of The Juilliard String Quartet and one-time teaching assistant to Ivan Galamian. “He is uniquely positioned to lead Meadowmount as we continue to be a center of intensive string study and development at the highest level.”

Mr. Hayman is a graduate of Wesleyan University (CT) with degrees in Music and Russian/Soviet Studies. Concentrating in piano performance along with extensive choral studies, he spent summers training at Chautauqua Institution. An avid choral singer, Mr. Hayman was a founding Board member of the French-language opera company L’Opera Français de New York.

“Ivan Galamian created a brilliantly effective and unique program under his warm, personal direction. Meadowmount has the most incredible musical history coupled with its stunning Adirondack setting” said Mark, adding “I am so excited to join this amazing musical institution and help lead it into the future. It is an honor to carry on the Galamians’ tremendous legacy and I look forward to working with the Board, devoted faculty and staff, and the many wonderful alumni to continue the school’s mission of developing the best string players in the world. Meadowmount is a truly special place and we want to maintain its unique qualities while introducing new innovative ideas and practices that will enhance the student experience. I look forward to spending much time in this beautiful corner of New York State!”

The Meadowmount School of Music Board launched a rigorous national search earlier this year to fill the reimagined top leadership role overseeing operations and activities for the school. Interim Director Mary McGowan remains as the longserving Administrative Director. Interim Music Direction is shared by faculty members Hans Jørgen Jensen (cello), Gerardo Ribeiro (violin) and Anne Setzer (violin), and a search for a permanent Music Director will follow. Search Committee Chair Hans Jørgen Jensen added, “Mark emerged as a stand-out from a pool of enormously talented candidates. His deep passion for music, his creativity and entrepreneurial spirit, and his commitment to young artists combined with his administrative and fundraising experience make him the right person to guide Meadowmount through our next chapter.” Board member James Ehnes added “Mark will build on the legacy of the Galamians and the strong foundation established over the last 77 years. We are excited to partner with him to create and realize a strategic vision for Meadowmount’s future.”

A native of Buffalo, NY, Mark resides in New York City with his husband, Mark Penny.

ABOUT MEADOWMOUNT SCHOOL OF MUSIC
Founded in 1944 by master teacher Ivan Galamian, Meadowmount School of Music offers a 7-week summer program in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York for young violinists, violists and cellists training for professional careers in music.

Musicians ages 13 to 30+ from across the globe engage in intensive study and practice to further their musical skills. The stellar array of alumni over the school’s 77-year history includes Pinchas Zukerman, Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, KyungWha Chung, Lynn Harrell, Joshua Bell, Jaime Laredo, and Ani and Ida Kavafian. Meadowmount alumni represent the very best of international soloists
and chamber musicians, concertmasters and principal players of the world’s leading orchestras, and distinguished artist teachers at the major conservatories.

Meadowmount remains true to Mr. Galamian’s vision of a school with “a special spirit that is conducive to total concentration on excellence in musical performance” and a place to enjoy the camaraderie of other young people from around the world who are serious about their musical development. From the school’s humble beginnings, the campus now encompasses over 52 buildings on 260 acres of fields and forest. With a capacity enrollment of 200, the school is small enough to provide personal attention to each student. A careful balance of intense practice and physical recreation ensures that students remain focused and productive, and the teaching concepts of Mr. Galamian remain intact through his former students now on the faculty. Following the suspension of school in the summer of 2020 due to the pandemic, Meadowmount returns in 2021 with a Virtual Summer Session for more than 150 young string players led by an internationally renowned faculty.

For more information, visit www.meadowmount.com or call (518) 962-2400.