VOCES8 Foundation Advisory Board
Neale Perl
Neale Perl began studying the cello in New York City at the age of ten. During his final two years of high school, he studied at the Manhattan School of Music Prep Department. Mr. Perl went on to earn performance degrees in cello from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University and Temple University. Upon returning to the United States from a fellowship in Paris, he began performing as a freelance cellist and taught the cello and chamber music.
In 1985, Mr. Perl was appointed assistant director of cultural programs at the University of Maryland. During his tenure, the organization produced signature events with Sir Yehudi Menuhin and Mstislav Rostropovich that attracted participants from around the world. In addition, his office ran the International Kapell Piano Festival and Competition and presented concerts at the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, and Carnegie Hall. In 1988, Mr. Perl was recruited to serve as the Executive Director of the La Jolla Music Society - one of the largest presenters of classical music in Southern California. Over a period of 14 years, the budget tripled, an endowment was started, innovative outreach programs were created, the summer music festival (SummerFest) expanded, and the organization finished each season with a surplus.
In 2002, Mr. Perl was recruited to return to Washington, DC to become President & CEO of the Washington Performing Arts Society (WPAS) -- one of the country’s oldest and most distinguished presenters of the performing arts. During his ten-year tenure, WPAS created 30 new outreach programs, a groundbreaking arts education initiative with Chancellor Michelle Rhee and the DC Public Schools (including co-authoring a new curriculum for DCPS), helped launch a new concert hall, tripled education programs to reach 80,000 school children a year, presented over 100 artist debuts at the Kennedy Center, accumulated $4M in operating reserves, and increased the endowment. In recognition of the extraordinary impact of the organization, WPAS was awarded the 2012 National Medal of Arts by President Obama “for inspiring generations of young performers to follow their passions ... and bringing world-class performances to our nation’s capital.”
In 2014, Mr. Perl was recruited to assume the leadership of the Scottsdale Arts -- one of the largest arts organizations in the Southwest. Mr Perl was in charge of overseeing the operation and programming of three distinct divisions: the Center for the Performing Arts, the Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA), and a nationally recognized Public Art program. The organization created the signature arts event for the city, Canal Convergence. This festival of light and water (on the Arizona Canals) quickly grew in attendance from 10,000 to more than 100,000 people annually. Their annual arts festival of 175 curated artists attracted 30,000 patrons. In total, Scottsdale Arts presented and hosted 2,300 events a year and reached 440,000 people a year.
Since leaving the organization in 2017, Mr. Perl returned to arts consulting and is currently working with VOCES8 to create and implement a comprehensive development plan to increase contributed income.
Neale is appointed to the Advisory Board as a representative for Mrs Mars.