Emil Kang

Brainstormer, Change Agent, Connector, Educator/Teacher, Explorer, Global soul, Idea generator, Musician, Parent, Potential employer

I serve as The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's first Executive Director for the Arts, a senior administrative post created in 2005 to help unify and elevate the arts. I am also the founding Executive and Artistic Director of Carolina Performing Arts, an internationally renowned performing arts program. I have curated over 500 performances in all conceivable genres of music, theater, dance and contemporary performance by artists from 62 countries. We have commissioned over 50 new works by artists from all around the world and presented 39 world premieres. In 2012 I was appointed to the National Council on the Arts by President Obama with Senate confirmation. I also serve on the faculty of the Music Department as Professor of the Practice. I have taught courses in arts leadership, artistic entrepreneurship and the creative process and currently teaches a class on understanding the world through music. My particular passion is in working with undergraduates who integrate the arts into their studies. I currently serve on the boards of directors of the Martha Graham Dance Company and the International Society for the Performing Arts. I also serve on the Selection Committee for the Artist Protection Fund run by the International Institution for Education. Prior to coming to Chapel Hill, i served as President and Executive Director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) where I spearheaded a $125 million capital and endowment campaign, the largest in the Orchestra's history. I've also held positions of Vice President for the DSO, Orchestra Manager for the Seattle Symphony, and Orchestra Management Fellow with the symphony orchestras of San Francisco, Houston, and Grand Rapids, Michigan. I started my career with the American Composers Orchestra in New York. I have served on many boards of directors including the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, Henry Ford Hospital, The North Carolina Symphony, among others. I have been a member of Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and completed the Strategic Perspectives in Non-Profit Management program at Harvard Business School. I graduated from the University of Rochester with a degree in Economics. I was born in New York City and trained in violin studies from a young age. I like to drive fast, travel the world, inspire others and be inspired. I've attended TEDGlobal 2014 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, TEDGlobal 2009 in Oxford, UK and serve as the TED licensee, emcee, and faculty advisor for TEDxUNC.

Learning, risk-taking, all forms of performance, the arts and artists in our society, inspiring young people, and new people and places.

classical music, Performing Arts, Undergraduate education

Attended first TEDGlobal conference in Oxford, UK, 2009. Emcee'ed TEDxUNC in Chapel Hill in 2013. Attended TEDGlobal conference in Rio de Janeiro, 2014. Great admiration for the concept, delivery and celebration of the interconnectedness of people, ideas, and the world.

Worrying, breaking things, inspiring undergraduates, connecting and bridging people, ideas, and concepts, being shy, tuning and tinkering with cars..