Paul Helfrich

Paul Helfrich is President of the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance.  He received his Bachelor of Music degree (with distinction) from Indiana University – Bloomington in 1984, and a Master's degree in Arts Administration, also from Indiana University, in 1986. Mr. Helfrich came to Dayton to serve as President of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra in October 2008.  In less than four years, he has overseen the launch of two new series including the highly successful Rockin’ Orchestra series, the completion of a $1.5 million special fundraising campaign called Protect & Secure, and played a key role in the merger of the Dayton Philharmonic with the Dayton Ballet and Dayton Opera to create the new Dayton Performing Arts Alliance.   Prior to his arrival in Dayton, he served 12 years as Executive Director of the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra in Charleston, West Virginia.  His time there saw a great expansion of the orchestra’s concert, touring, and education programs. Mr. Helfrich has also served as Executive Director of the Erie Philharmonic and Director of Marketing for the Kalamazoo Symphony.

Update from the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance

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The Dayton Performing Arts Alliance (DPAA) is now three years old.   On July 1, we celebrated the third birthday for the historic merger of the Dayton Ballet, Dayton Opera, and Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra into one operating entity, the first and only merger of its kind in the United States. As we begin our fourth year as the DPAA, I’m pleased to have this opportunity to update Adaptistration readers on how we’re …

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Inside the Dayton Arts Merger Part 1

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Guest-Author

It’s been a busy summer so far here in Dayton, as well as a hot one!   As of July 1, the Dayton Ballet, Dayton Opera, and Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra are now one organization – the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance, the first merged ballet company, opera company, and symphony orchestra in the United States.  When Drew contacted me about writing a guest column a few weeks ago, I thought I would use this opportunity to provide an inside look at how our merger came about.

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TAFTO 2012 Contribution: Paul Helfrich

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TAFTO 2012 Paul Helfrich

I’m pleased to be part of TAFTO for 2012. I have to admit, though, I’ve often been a bit cynical about the endeavor. A lot of past contributions seem to fall in one of two camps. The first group typically focuses on the evangelical power of classical music, its ability to effect sudden conversions in listeners of a quasi-religious nature. These usually feature stories of truck drivers and jackhammer operators with tears in their eyes upon hearing their first classical concert. I call these “exceptions that prove the rule,” because we all know that oftentimes, a first exposure to a classical music concert does not bring about such an immediate conversion; in fact, sometimes the opposite happens, and is probably more likely.

Rise Of The Planet Of The Managers

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Guest-Author

I’m flattered to be asked by Drew to be a guest contributor. I still recall my first acquaintance with Adaptistration, about seven years ago when I was with the West Virginia Symphony – and I’m probably not the only manager who had this experience.   CONDUCTOR: “Our website was just panned by Adaptistration.” ME: “What’s Adaptistration?”  CONDUCTOR: “It’s a blog; I think it’s mostly for musicians.” ME: “As if we don’t have enough problems, now we have to worry about getting panned by bloggers!”

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