Carnegie Hall

(NEW YORK, NY; February 12, 2024)—Carnegie Hall today announced that top music industry leaders from across the country have joined together to form the Carnegie Hall Cultural Council. This new advisory group will collaborate with Carnegie Hall’s artistic planning team, building on the Hall’s legacy of presenting the best of every genre of music. Their efforts will help ensure that a wide range of today’s most inspiring artists continue to be featured on the Hall’s stages and as part of its education and social impact programs. The group’s initial work will place a particular focus on developing Carnegie Hall presentations featuring leading contemporary Black and Latin artists.

The Carnegie Hall Cultural Council members are important influencers, artists, and tastemakers who have helped to shape the direction of their respective genres of music and beyond. Music entrepreneur Terry “TR” Ross serves as chair, working with individual Council members to explore projects and initiatives. Council members include Grammy Award-winning record producer, rapper, and songwriter Rodney Jerkins; Grammy Award-winning songwriter, recording artist, and record producer Terius Gesteelde-Diamant; Catherine Brewton, Vice President, Creative at Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI); entertainment manager and film/television producer Derek Dudley, CEO of ID8 Multimedia, Inc.; Cyrus Garrett, a consultant with an extensive record of creating public-private partnership and social impact as well as a Carnegie Hall trustee; Christopher (Chris) Hicks, Chief Innovation Officer of Quality Control Holdings and CEO of Noontime Music Publishing; Kevin “Coach K” Lee, co-founder of Quality Control, the label and music-and-sports management company; and Jennifer McDaniels, President of Management, SB Projects.

Over the last 18 months, the newly formed Council has worked to bring legendary DJ D-Nice’s Club Quarantine to Carnegie Hall for two sold-out performances in summer 2022 and 2023. In February 2023, Council members advised on the Hall’s first Power Network event, a Black History Month conversation and celebration designed to build community and welcome new audiences. The evening featured panel discussions with Black business leaders and the Carnegie Hall debut of hip-hop icon Busta Rhymes. The Council is also eager to contribute to education and social impact programs created by Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute. In November 2022, the Council supported a performance and conversation with rapper NLE Choppa attended by 200 teens in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Room.

“Carnegie Hall has always been about presenting the best of every kind of music,” said Clive Gillinson, Executive and Artistic Director of Carnegie Hall. “We’re thrilled to be working with Terry “TR” Ross and members of the Carnegie Hall Cultural Council to develop presentations featuring some of today’s most important popular artists as we work to extend this strand of the Hall’s history. In recent years, Carnegie Hall has benefited from partnering with other expert advisory councils as we curated citywide festivals and other collaborative artistic initiatives. We’re excited to form this ongoing Cultural Council as we deeply appreciate the insight and experience that this group brings to this space.”

“The Council is incredibly excited to work with the team at Carnegie Hall to continue to expand the Hall’s presentations, featuring a wide range of popular and contemporary artists, representing a broad range of backgrounds and cultures,” said Carnegie Hall Cultural Council Chair Terry “TR” Ross. “Our Council members are among the most talented and respected professionals in the music industry, and they are highly engaged with ideas that we’re sure will result in fantastic Carnegie Hall experiences.”

The Power Network returns to Carnegie Hall with its second annual Black History Month Conversation and Celebration tomorrow night—Tuesday, February 13 at 8:00 p.m.—featuring Grammy Award–nominated, 10X platinum artist Rick Ross performing with orchestra. This year’s program welcomes back Chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners Robert F. Smith and the financial-empowerment visionaries of Earn Your Leisure—Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings. Governor Wes Moore and Sherrese Clarke Soares, Founder and CEO of HarborView Equity Partners, also join the program with other industry leaders including Ron Busby, Sr., Derek Ferguson, Megan Holston-Alexander, Kim Keenan, and Cedric Nash in candid discussions about leveraging content, influence, technology, and public policy to drive real change and close the economic divide. The event will also feature a musical performance by DJ Suss One, house DJ on the Sherri Shepherd show.