Koonce Joins Fenimore Chamber Orchestra as Executive Director

COOPERSTOWN—Fenimore Chamber Orchestra has announced the engagement of Lee Edward Koonce as executive director.

From 2016-2024, Koonce served as president and artistic director, and later as senior advisor, of the Gateways Music Festival in Rochester. He also chaired the festival’s Artistic Programs Committee. Koonce has been a member of the festival’s Board of Directors since 1997, a testament to his long-standing commitment to its mission and growth, FCO officials said in a press release.

From 2004-2015, Koonce held executive leadership roles at three of New York City’s most respected cultural institutions: Opus 118 Harlem School of Music, Third Street Music School Settlement—the nation’s oldest and largest community music school—and Ballet Hispánico. Across these organizations, he led transformative initiatives to strengthen board governance, expand and elevate programming, grow endowments, implement long-term strategic plans, boost enrollment, and develop high- performing management teams.

Before relocating to New York City, Koonce served as executive director of Sherwood Conservatory of Music and as director of community relations for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. At the Chicago Symphony, he led the development and implementation of programs designed to expand the orchestra’s reach within diverse communities. Under his leadership, the Chicago Symphony launched “A Time to Engage”—a comprehensive, organization-wide community engagement plan. In addition to overseeing external initiatives, Koonce also guided internal efforts to increase diversity across the Chicago Symphony’s entire ecosystem, including musicians, trustees, staff, volunteers, audiences, and artistic programming.

He earned a bachelor of music in piano performance from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, a bachelor of arts in Spanish literature from Oberlin College and a master of music in piano performance and literature from the Eastman School of Music.

Musical America named Koonce one of the nation’s Top 30 Professionals in 2023 and he received the League of American Orchestras’ prestigious Gold Baton Award in 2024. His additional honors include the Legacy Award from the William Warfield Scholarship Fund (2025) and the Award for Outstanding Achievement from the National Association of Negro Musicians (2024). In 2025, he will receive the University of Rochester’s esteemed Frederick Douglass Medal.

“This was a huge search for the position of executive director and we’re startled and delighted at the number of applicants we had. We are very fortunate to have Lee join us; it’s a huge step forward. We have all of these ideas of what we want to accomplish and now that Lee is on board, we can move forward,” said Thomas Wolf, chair FCO Board of Directors.