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December 3, 2018 –The Monterey Symphony announces the appointment of Dr. Philipp C. Bleek to a one-year term on its Board of Directors. Dr. Bleek is an Associate Professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies and Acting Program Chair of Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies.

His election to the board comes as part of a pilot program to mentor the next generation of board members. Officers in this program will serve a single one-year term and be matched with a more seasoned board member, serving as a mentor. They will attend all meetings, serve on a committee, have a vote on board decisions, and be eligible to upgrade their term to the full three years, if they so choose. The initiative is intended to support both the new board member and the Symphony as a whole, by connecting the organization to a new constituency.

Dr. Bleek came to Monterey from a Research Fellow position at Harvard University. Before that he was in Washington, DC, where, while completing his doctoral studies, he taught at both Georgetown University and in the Department of Defense Senior Leader Development Program. During that time, he also served as a Visiting Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a Non-Resident Fellow at the Center for a New American Security. In 2012-13, Dr. Bleek took a leave from his faculty position, supported by a Council on Foreign Relations fellowship, to serve as Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense Programs, working under Secretaries of Defense Leon Panetta and Chuck Hagel.

Dr. Bleek's appointment comes at an exciting time for the Symphony, which recently announced a landmark $2.4MM endowment gift and $1MM bequest. The Symphony is also launching a search for its next Music Director, who will take the helm at the 2020-21 season. The Symphony is currently in its 73^rd season, Sound Waves, with concerts in February, March, April, and May.

About the Monterey Symphony

The mission of the Monterey Symphony is to engage, educate and excite our community through the performance and continual discovery of symphonic music. 

The Monterey Symphony, under the artistic leadership of Music Director & Conductor Max Bragado-Darman, is the only fully professional, full-season orchestra serving the communities of the Monterey Bay, Salinas, Salinas Valley, Big Sur, and San Benito County. It provides double performances of a six-concert subscription series at Carmel's Sunset Theater, as well as youth education programs that include in-class visits and culminate in full-orchestra concerts for school children.

The Monterey Symphony is a nonprofit, public benefit corporation, supported through various generous individuals and through grants and corporate gifts from The Arts Council of Monterey County, The Berkshire Foundation, The Barnet Segal Charitable Trust, California Arts Council, The Community Foundation for Monterey County, The Harden Foundation, Monterey Peninsula Foundation, Music Performance Trust Fund, Nancy Buck Ransom Foundation, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, The Pebble Beach Company Foundation, S.T.A.R. Foundation, The Robert and Virginia Stanton Endowment, Taylor Farms, Union Bank, The Yellow Brick Road Foundation and many others.

For additional information, please call 831-646-8511 or visit the website: www.montereysymphony.org