The Grange Festival has announced that Glyndebourne's audience director, Tyler Stoops, will become its new CEO.
Michael Chance, the festival’s artistic director, will continue to reinforce the festival’s artistic direction at the stately home at Northington, near Alresford.
Stoops acquired audience and revenue growth during his tenure as Director of Audience Development at Glyndebourne, gaining experience at the Royal Opera House, the Metropolitan Opera and Santa Fe Opera.
With a Wharton School MBA and corporate experience with Amazon and Disney, Mr Stoops aims to build a promising future for The Grange Festival.
Sir Richard Mantle, The Grange Festival chair, says: "I am delighted that Tyler will be joining us at an exciting inflection point for The Grange Festival as we continue to build audiences and seek to diversify and expand our creative programme.
"Tyler undoubtedly has a voracious passion for the arts, in particular opera, and brings with him a powerful combination of business and creative skills to lead our great team at The Grange Festival. Opera in the UK may appear to be at a crossroads, but this is a moment to approach the future with ambition and confidence".
Tyler Stoops said: “I’m thrilled to be joining The Grange Festival at this pivotal moment, to build on its success and lead the development of an exciting, shared vision for the future and I look forward to working with Michael Chance, the staff team and the Board.
"From my earliest experiences as a technical apprentice at the Santa Fe Opera I have had a strong affinity for the unique value that festivals can provide - for audiences, artists, technicians, staff, and the surrounding community - and look forward to strengthening all those interconnected relationships as we build and grow together."
Michael Chance, The Grange Festival artistic director, said: “Having achieved profound artistic successes in our 2023 Festival, and as we approach our eighth summer season, now seems a good moment to hand over the key managerial role to Tyler Stoops, someone whose dynamism and competence will undoubtedly take us forward to the next stage.
"I look forward to working with him to develop and enhance both our teams and our growing activities."
Tyler Stoops will join The Grange Festival on June 3 in time for the Festival programme, which runs June 6 – July 6.
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