Old Town School of Folk Music names new executive director; ex-Ravinia CEO leaves after short run
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Old Town School of Folk Music announced Friday that it has appointed senior director of education Troy Anderson as its new director and chief executive officer—replacing former Ravinia Festival chief executive officer Welz Kauffman, who has left the post after less than two months.
Anderson has served as the senior director of education at the Old Town School since July 2023. The music school credited Anderson with advancing its goals in educational programs, building strong relationships with Old Town School faculty and staff, and developing powerful programming while overseeing the school's relationships with the Chicago Public Schools and other community partners.
Before joining the Old Town School, Anderson was executive director of the Chicago Center for Music Education (ChiME) in the West Town neighborhood for more than 10 years. Anderson was credited in that role with growing the school consistently after a long period of decline before he arrived.
Anderson developed a diversity, equity, and inclusion framework at ChiME, and led the development of a formalized music curriculum, the Old Town School said.
Anderson previously held leadership roles at the West Loop-based Merit School of Music and the David Adler Music and Arts Center in Libertyville.
The jazz musician received his Bachelor of Music from the University of North Texas, where he played with the One O'Clock Lab Band, and received his Master of Music from DePaul University while working as a freelance trombonist.
"Throughout my career in community music schools, I have long admired the history, talent, and sense of community that makes the Old Town School so unique," Anderson said in an Old Town School news release. "I am eager to get to work, in partnership with our incredible faculty and staff, as we lead the evolution of this storied organization to bring people together to learn, create, perform, and enjoy music and dance."
In the head role at the Old Town School, Anderson replaces Kauffman, who the Old Town School news release said has stepped down for personal family reasons. Kauffman only started in the role on Sept. 30.
"On behalf of the Board, we support Welz's decision to focus on his family, and we wish him all the best going forward," Kate Tomford, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Old Town School, said in the news release. "We are grateful and thrilled Troy has agreed to take on this new role. His breadth of experience, and his familiarity with and dedication to our community, will facilitate a smooth transition."
Kauffman was appointed to the position earlier this year after a nationwide search. He served as CEO of the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park from 2000 through 2020, and had most recently been heading up the Tucson Festival of Books in Arizona before returning to Chicago to take over at Old Town.
The Old Town School of Folk Music was founded in 1957 by folk musicians Win Stracke and Frank Hamilton. The first location for the music school was in the Old Town neighborhood at 333 W. North Ave.
In 1968—with its North Avenue headquarters set to be torn down—the Old Town School moved to The Aldine Hall, a 13,000-square-foot Romanesque Revival building at 909 W. Armitage Ave. in Lincoln Park that the school still uses as a secondary location.
In 1998, the Old Town School opened its current main headquarters in the old Hild Library building at 4544 N. Lincoln Ave., a 43,000 square-foot structure that features a 400-seat concert hall and vast additional classroom space. The Old Town School expanded to an additional building across the street at 4545 N. Lincoln Ave. in 2012.
Currently, the Old Town School of Folk Music enrolls nearly 6,600 students, of whom 2,700 are children. It offers 700 accredited weekly classes, private lessons, and more than 400 concerts and community events.