Jean Davidson

Jean Davidson is President & CEO of the Los Angeles Master Chorale. Previously, she spent 15 years in chief executive roles working alongside renowned artistic directors Bill T. Jones of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and Yo-Yo Ma with the Silk Road Project. In 2011, as chief executive of the Bill T. Joes/Arnie Zane Dance Company, she led the merger discussions with Dance Theater Workshop, including a capital campaign, to form New York Live Arts, a center for interdisciplinary performance. She subsequently served as the founding CEO of New York Live Arts until 2015. She was appointed the founding Managing Director of the Silk Road Project in 2001. Having served at the helm of two newly-created non-profits, she has significant “start-up” experience including board development, capacity building, fundraising, identity branding, and long-term financial planning. While at the Silk Road Project she was involved with producing the expansive Smithsonian Folklife Festival and in planning the Silk Road Ensemble's participation in the World Expo in Nagoya, Japan. She has been involved with producing several commercial recordings and documentary films, and has planned numerous tours and collaborations. She is an Oberlin College alumna and is married to Kojiro Umezaki, a musician and composer.