Posted Wednesday, February 8, 2012 --- 7:55 a.m.

Press Release:

MADISON -- Overture Center Foundation (OCF), the private nonprofit organization that took over management of Overture Center for the Arts on January 1, has named longtime performing arts executive Ted DeDee as the new President and CEO of the 200,000 square-foot, seven-venue performing arts center in downtown Madison.

DeDee comes to Madison from New Albany, Ohio, near Columbus, where he oversaw the building and opening of the Jeanne B. McCoy Community Center for the Arts, which opened in 2008. Prior to that, he oversaw the design, building and opening of the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville, Tenn. He has managed a number of performing arts facilities in Tennessee, Dallas and New York State in a career that spans nearly 35 years.

“Our facility is not brand new, but the organization running it is,” said OCF chair Deirdre Garton. “Ted’s entrepreneurial spirit and record of success at opening new, exciting artistic spaces is just what Overture needs at this moment in its history. He is also a perfect fit for the organization and the community.”

“I could not be more thrilled to join this community and this organization at this very exciting time,” DeDee said. “We will face challenges, to be sure, as any new organization does. But this board is engaged, the staff is incredibly dedicated and talented, and the community is ready to help us grow and thrive. I am very optimistic, excited and ready to get to work.”

“Ted is an excellent choice to lead Overture in its next chapter. I am well aware of Ted’s accomplishments, and he has a tremendous reputation among our peers,” said outgoing Overture CEO Tom Carto. “I am happy to leave Overture in such capable hands.”

DeDee will begin his new duties full-time on Monday, April 2. Current CEO Tom Carto will remain interim CEO until then. Carto was a finalist to remain as CEO permanently, but withdrew his name from consideration to pursue other opportunities.

DeDee earned a degree in music education from the State University of New York, College at Fredonia. He managed the Eastman Theatre in Rochester from 1978-88; opened and ran the newly-built Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas from 1988-94; served as executive vice president and general manager of the Tennessee Performing Arts Center in Nashville from 1995-2002; helped design and construct the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, also in Nashville, from 2002 until it opened in 2006, and stayed on as executive director until 2007, when he moved on to the McCoy Center, where he has served as executive director for the past five years. He is one of only about a dozen performing arts venue managers in the country to hold the title of Certified Facility Executive (CFE) from the International Association of Venue Managers.