Courtesy of Jazz St. Louis
After more than two decades of work, Gene Dobbs Bradford is stepping down this spring as President & CEO of Jazz St. Louis. Bradford will become the Executive Director of the Savannah Music Festival in Savannah, Georgia.
During his 23 years with the organization, Bradford has helped Jazz St. Louis grow from its original home at Jazz at the Bistro with a $300,000 budget to multi-million dollar organization housed in their own Harold and Dorothy Steward Center for Jazz in Grand Center. The space was part of an $8.5-million campaign that allowed Jazz St. Louis to expand to include the Centene Jazz Education Center and the well-known and beloved Ferring Jazz Bistro—both of which have become integral to the education programs started by Bradford, which have served more than 200,000 students.
“When I came to Jazz St. Louis from the St. Louis symphony 23 years ago, I had the dream of building an organization that would be a vital and well-respected cultural institution both here in St. Louis and throughout the world,” Bradford said in a statement. “Right now, the organization is in great shape financially, has a fantastic team, and a great artistic vision. I feel the time is right for me to embark on a new venture that will allow me to follow my passion for live performance, education, and community engagement.”
“Gene brings people together, and his experience collaborating with other arts organizations here will serve him well in Savannah,” added Bill Higley, Chairman of the Board at Jazz St. Louis.
Jazz St. Louis has said they do not anticipate any interruption in their 2021/2022 season with Bradford’s departure. The Jazz St. Louis programming is set through the first week of June 2022, and many of their additional programs, such as Keyon Harrold’s Creative Advisorship, will continue as planned. Leading up to Bradford’s departure, Jazz St. Louis will take time to honor Bradford’s achievements and conduct a search for a new Chief Executive Officer. The Board of Directors is now assembling a search committee that will include consultations with key stakeholders about the direction they would like the non-profit to go in the future.
The Savannah Music Festival, Georgia’s largest musical arts event, books a diverse group of artists from classical, jazz, American, and international roots music. The organization operates year-round to plan and produce each year’s festival while providing off-season concerts, broadcast programs, and free music education programming focused on youth.
