Nicoleen Willson, General Manager
Photo © 2010 Photos by Orion, LLC
Nicoleen Willson joined Hopkins Symphony Orchestra as General Manager during the summer of 2011. Originally from Los Angeles, Nicoleen has lived throughout the U.S. earning degrees in Clarinet Performance and Arts Administration at the University of Michigan (BM), Baylor University (MM), and the University of Oregon (DMA,) in addition to earning a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the University of Oregon.
Ms. Willson’s primary areas of interest and research include performing arts management, board governance, and teaching artists. Specifically, she seeks to develop and employ models of arts management that spur collaboration between artists, administrators, board members, and the community. Her first doctoral paper was "Arts Governance: Issues and Practices in Arts Governance with an Emphasis on Nonprofit Orchestral Organizations". Ms. Willson also wrote "Teaching Artists and Clarinet Pedagogy in the University", which explores the emerging field of Teaching Artists as a significant trend to training the next generation of artists in the 21st century. As a clarinetist, Ms. Willson has performed and taught throughout the U.S.
Ms. Willson is also Executive Director of the Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, a professional freelance orchestra based in Baltimore, performing symphonic concerts on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Delaware.
Ms. Willson currently lives in Baltimore, MD with her husband, who plays horn in the United States Navy Band, and their daughter.
July 2015