Arts & Entertainment

Napa Valley Youth Symphony Names Evy Warshawski Executive Director

The former artistic director of the Napa Valley Opera House, Evy Warshawski, has been named executive director of the Napa Valley Youth Symphony.

Matt Eisenberg, President of the Board of the award-winning Napa Valley Youth Symphony, has announced the hiring of Evy Warshawski to the newly-created position of Executive Director.

Warshawski, previously the Executive/Artistic Director of the Napa Valley Opera House from 2004-11, will be responsible for general oversight of all NVYS activities, including operations, development, marketing/public relations, financial management and event production. 

Warshawski’s background also includes the direction of the Ann Arbor Summer Festival and management for ten years of the Edison Theatre at Washington University, St. Louis.  She is a board member of Leadership Napa Valley and the Napa County Library Foundation.  She is a bi-monthly columnist on the arts for the Napa Valley Register and writes for Marketplace Magazine and Napa Valley Life Magazine, and she was recently selected to represent the City of Napa on the newly-created Napa County Arts and Culture Advisory Committee.

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“We feel truly fortunate to be working with Evy,” said Eisenberg.  “Her extraordinary background in the arts, programming and administration will allow the Youth Symphony to build on its considerable momentum of recruiting and training students in a truly pre-professional setting. All of our constituents—students, parents, supporters—are excited about the combined talents of Evy and our amazingly talented Artistic Director, Ming Luke.” 

“I am truly excited to be working with an engaged board, Ming Luke, gifted student musicians and involved parents,” said Warshawski.  “In its short history, NVYS has become a major player in the Napa Valley arts community, and I look forward to helping the organization achieve long-term sustainability.”

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Ming Luke, the Youth Symphony’s popular conductor and music educator since 2008, will retain the position of Artistic Director and General Manager.

"Well-beloved in the valley, Evy brings a wealth of experience to the group, and we're excited to have Evy join the NVYS family,” said Luke.

The Napa Valley Youth Symphony (nvsy.org) is an award-winning, nonprofit youth orchestra, providing the highest level of musical training to more than 90 young musicians and offering them the opportunity to enrich their communities by performing seasonal, full-length concerts.

In addition to its youth orchestra program, NVYS also trains entry-level student musicians through string and wind ensembles and provides educational programs to local schools and organizations. It is the only organization of its kind in Napa Valley.

NVYS ensembles perform four to six major concerts per year as well as several master classes, education concerts and chamber music concerts each season. The NVYS has garnered many accolades, including recognition of achievement by United States Senator Barbara Boxer and an invitation to perform at Carnegie Hall in 2008. In 2010, the NVYS won top honors with a Gold Award at the Los Angeles International Music Festival, performing at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. This past summer, the NVYS performed three concerts in its first European tour, including concerts in Vienna and at the International Mahler Festival in the Czech Republic.

Source: Napa Valley Youth Symphony

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