Tim Van Leer
Executive director, Lied Center of Kansas
Chuck France/University Relations
Tim Van Leer is executive director of the Lied Center of Kansas. The center brings an eclectic mix of performers to campus and is exploring innovative ways to reach new audiences and enhance the educational mission of KU.
Years at current job: This is my eighth year
Job duties: I plan and direct the administrative, operational, financial and programmatic activities of the Lied Center. The arts and education go hand in hand. How would you say the Lied Center and KU complement each other's missions? The Lied Center is a major university presenter of the performing arts, engaging audiences through presentation, education, research and service. As a department of the School of Fine Arts, our mission mirrors that of the university.
What does the Lied Center look for in performers who will appear at the venue? We look for both established and emerging professional performing artists who can offer high-quality performances. We also look for artists who can deliver education and engagement activities that provide students and community with information on their background and a contextualization of their work and creative process.
The Lied Center is using new approaches such as iTunes promotions. What other methods does the center employ to reach new audiences? We have developed Lied Center Facebook and MySpace pages, a podcast series -- accessible through iTunes and RSS feeds -- that features interviews with performing artists from this season, an e-Newsletter, and we are working directly with a Lied Center-created StratCom team (strategic communication students at KU) to target and expand our efforts to engage students and young people.
In addition to performances, what does the Lied Center offer the community and the state? When Christina Hixson, trustee of the Lied Foundation Trust, provided funds to build the Lied Center, she also provided a vision statement that guides our initiatives; "to make the arts accessible to the people of Kansas."
In our community, we offer a broad range of educational activities for K-12 students, for arts and nonarts students at KU and for the community.
We offer free, school-only performances for students in USD 497; workshops for USD 497 teachers to develop methods that integrate the arts in their classroom curriculum; workshop training for local artists to develop; their abilities to teach their craft to students; a number of engagement opportunities for direct conversation between KU students and visiting artists; master classes with KU music and dance students; and pre-performance and post-performance discussions to help audiences gain a better understanding of artists.
We also provide more than 3,000 free tickets each year to schools and civic organizations in Douglas County and throughout the state to make it possible for students and adults to attend performances at the Lied Center. These opportunities allow individuals to enjoy artists and events to which they might not otherwise be exposed.
What do you enjoy most about your profession? I'm so proud of the breadth and depth of our programs and the positive effect that a quality venue and performing arts program provides for the university, the community and the state. I am energized by the values and benefits of the arts, for each of us, as individuals and as a university community.
What aspect of your job might others not realize you're involved with? Each performing arts season at the Lied Center starts some 18-24 months in advance and requires an enormous amount of time and energy from the staff. I'm thrilled to be working with such a dedicated group of people. They are some of the finest professionals I've ever been associated with. This includes full-time and part-time staff as well as the talented students who work in our ticket office, audience services, marketing/design department and backstage in the production areas. We also have very dedicated community volunteers who staff our Usher Corps.
The center recently launched the Tree of Life program, an interdisciplinary project. What is the project, and what does it entail? Tree of Life - Origins and Evolution will be the product of a two-year collaborative Creative Campus project, culminating in an exciting evening of music, dance and theatre, April 24-25, 2009. The aim of the Tree of Life project is to integrate the performing arts across the disciplines of science, humanities and the arts -- the Tree of Life performance explores the intricacy, challenge and revelation involved in bridging these disciplines. The project features the contributions of several academic departments at KU, the Lied Center and a number of resident and touring artists including two-time Grammy award-winning composer David Balakrishnan, founder of the Turtle Island Quartet, KU faculty members Muriel Cohan, Matt Jacobson, Mark Reaney, John Staniunas, Patrick Suzeau and Scott Weiss, as well as students from the KU Wind Ensemble, University Dance Company and University Theatre.
The Creative Campus program is made possible by the Association of Performing Arts Presenters and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. The Lied Center was one of only eight university presenters across the country to receive support.
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