When Big Ears recently released data on its economic effect on Knoxville, the announcement actually came with little or no surprise to a lot of us that follow the heartbeat of the arts scene. In many ways paralleling Downtown Knoxville’s resurgence in this century, the successful Festivals have been a major driving force in the growth of the professional music and arts world in the city. What has been a surprise is that the hard work of the festival flows from a relatively small group of arts-oriented individuals. And now, that group of individuals is growing with the times.
Big Ears founder and Executive Director Ashley Capps is announcing that Tom Welsh, previously with the Cleveland Museum of Art, has been named to the position of Managing Director. In Cleveland, Welsh was responsible for programming and managing a wide-ranging performing arts series that was eclectic in the extreme, presenting classical and new music, from both eastern and western sources. Prior to his position at CMA, Welsh was based in San Francisco where he was a member of the Artist Management team at Elision Fields Artistic Management, a firm that represented the legendary Terry Riley. Also in San Francisco, Welsh was a Manager with the contemporary classical music label, New Albion Records.
Big Ears is also announcing that Rachel Milford will be joining the organization as Community Arts Director. A longtime Knoxville resident involved in visual arts and arts education, Milford has been working in collaboration with organizations such as the Knoxville Museum of Art, Knox County Schools, Alternate Roots, and the Highlander Research and Education Center. Milford most recently coordinated the remarkable and memorable Krewe du Cattywampus Parade that featured New Orleans legendary Preservation Hall Jazz Band in this year’s BE festival. The Knoxville arts scene will be looking forward to Milford’s involvement in Big Ears’ year round community involvement.
Welsh and Milford will now be a part of the Big Ears management team that includes director of operations Bryan Crow and director of development Casey Fox.
With the highly successful (and sold-out) 2022 Big Ears Festival in the history books, the organization team is at work on the 2023 edition, scheduled for March 30-April 2 in Downtown Knoxville’s music and arts venues.
