Conference 2020 – Addressing Gender Equity On and Off the Stage

Erin Hannigan
Principal Oboe, Dallas Symphony Orchestra

Erin Hannigan is the Principal Oboist of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and is Adjunct Professor of Oboe at Southern Methodist University. In addition to her work at the DSO, Ms. Hannigan has been a guest principal oboist with the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, and Rochester Philharmonic.

Kim Noltemy
President and CEO, Dallas Symphony Orchestra

Kim Noltemy joined the Dallas Symphony Association (DSA) as Ross Perot President & CEO in January 2018. Since her arrival, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra has embarked on a bold, new strategic plan and has implemented numerous new initiatives that will have a long-term impact on the landscape of classical music in Dallas and the entire industry.

Noltemy launched the DSO’s Women in Classical Music program, an initiative designed to elevate the role of women in classical music and increase female representation in the field. She unveiled the DSO’s Southern Dallas Residency in November 2018. Its educational initiative, Young Musicians, launched in summer 2019 to make the transformative power of music education accessible to all children in Southern Dallas with free instruments and lessons. In May 2019, Noltemy successfully negotiated the transition of management of the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center from the City of Dallas to the Dallas Symphony Association.

Prior to coming to Dallas, Noltemy was the Chief Operating and Communications Officer for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Pops and Tanglewood since 2015.

Sheila Williams
Board Member, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

Sheila Williams is a storyteller and author of four published novels including Dancing on the Edge of the Roof, the basis for the Netflix film Juanita (March 2019) and The Secret Women, to be released by HarperCollins on June 9, 2020. Ms. Williams is the librettist for the opera Fierce, commissioned by The Cincinnati Opera, which will premiere in summer 2021. She is a former corporate legal assistant and a graduate of The University of Louisville. Ms. Williams is also a board member of The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.