Arts & culture, People, Milestones, Performing arts

Interim leaders named for Cal Performances

By Public Affairs

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Chancellor Carol Christ today announced the selection of an interim director for Cal Performances, with this message to the UC Berkeley community:

This summer, Cal Performances Executive and Artistic Director Matías Tarnopolsky will step down after nearly nine years at UC Berkeley to become the president and CEO of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Over the next several months, with support from Cal Performances Board of Trustees Co-Chairs Susan Graham and Helen Meyer, I will chair the search for the organization’s next director.

S. Shariq Yosufzai, Rob Bailis

S. Shariq Yosufzai, Rob Bailis

During this period of transition, S. Shariq Yosufzai, a vice chair of the Cal Performances board, has agreed to lead the organization as its interim executive director, beginning on June 15 . Cal Performances Associate Director Rob Bailis will serve under Shariq as interim artistic director. Both of these individuals are immensely talented administrators with significant management experience and deep ties to Berkeley, and I have no doubt that they will provide a steady hand during this time of change.

Shariq has been a member of the Cal Performances board since July 2014, and has served as a vice chair since July 2016. In March 2018, he retired from the Chevron Corp., where he had been vice president of global diversity and where he had been responsible, in part, for building the company’s close relationship with our campus. Over the course of a 43-year career at Chevron, Shariq held senior executive roles throughout the organization, and built significant experience in board membership and leadership as a member of the California Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, the San Francisco Opera’s Board of Directors, and other organizations in addition to his service at Berkeley.

Rob Bailis joined Cal Performances in June 2013 and was promoted to associate director soon after. He has been instrumental in shaping many defining artistic initiatives,  including Berkeley RADICAL ; curating programming for dance, theater and world stages; directing the student curators of Cal Performances in their annual presentation of Front Row ; and overseeing the fundraising, communications and marketing and education departments.

More information about this transition plan is available on the Cal Performances website . Amidst this leadership change, Cal Performances will continue to provide the greater Berkeley community with world-class performing arts shows and events, and I encourage you to learn about the organization’s wonderful 2018-19 season and take advantage of this great campus resource.

Sincerely,

Carol Christ
Chancellor

Read Cal Performances’ press release here