Leonard Named Exec. Director, ASCAP Foundation
• The ASCAP Foundation, a charitable organization dedicated to supporting American music creators, announced that Patricia Leonard has been appointed as Executive Director. She succeeds Nicole George-Middleton, who was recently promoted to Executive Vice President, Head of Creative Membership at ASCAP.
“For 50 years, The ASCAP Foundation has succeeded by providing recognition and support so that developing music creators of all kinds can flourish,” said Paul Williams, President of The ASCAP Foundation. “We are elated to have Patricia Leonard take over the Executive Director role and confident that her love of music and her deep background in the arts and philanthropy will enable the Foundation to continue to thrive for years to come.”
Leonard joins the ASCAP Foundation with more than two decades of experience in arts and philanthropy — she was formerly Chief Philanthropy Officer with the Princess Grace Foundation, Director of Institutional Giving for the Manhattan Theatre Club and Director of Institutional Relations for the Metropolitan Opera.
“I couldn’t be happier to join an organization with such noteworthy roots in the music community,” said Leonard. “The Foundation’s history of providing music education and nurturing aspiring songwriters and composers while extending the legacies of some of its most accomplished members is truly special, and I look forward to sustaining that mission.”
Leonard serves on the boards of the New York New Music Ensemble and New York Women Composers, and is a founding member of the New York Composers Circle. She is the composer of My Dearest Friend, an opera inspired by the letters of John and Abigail Adams. Leonard studied under Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Del Tredici through the CUNY Master of Music in Composition program and holds a B.Mus. from the Boston Conservatory and a B.A. from Merrimack College. [Photo Credit: Tess Steinkolk Photography]
