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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
J.C. Barker
Delaware Symphony Orchestra
J.C. Barker took over as executive director of the Delaware Symphony Orchestra in early 2020, just before the COVID pandemic would scuttle most of the prestigious outfit’s performances. Leaning on his prior experience as director of artistic administration with the Mobile (Ala.) Symphony though, he helped the
DSO navigate the uncertain times including livestreaming performances to audiences over the web. Barker
has also helped to temper relations between the board, staff and musicians, brokering an amicable
new three-year contract with the symphony’s professional musicians in 2022 – the first new DSO contract since 2019. He will once again be tasked with a major role in 2024 in finding a new music director after longtime maestro David Amado takes a step down.
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Tina Betz
City of Wilmington Office of Cultural Affairs
As the director of cultural affairs for Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki, Tina Betz is in the middle of the
music, performance and art that flows through Delaware’s largest city. Now more than 20 years into her second stint in the role, the classically trained singer and dancer keeps Wilmington on its feet, perhaps foremost through the annual Clifford Brown Jazz Festival. For one weekend a year, the festival makes Delaware the highlight of the jazz world, bringing in stars like Herbie Hancock, Chuck Mangione and Kamasi Washington over its 36-year history. Her office also manages the city’s arthouse film theater Theatre N, the Wilmington Children’s Chorus and the monthly city Art Loop.
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Brendan Cooke
OperaDelaware
Brendan Cooke’s love of art runs deep, having launched the Baltimore Concert Opera in 2008 after the collapse of
the Baltimore Opera Company with $700 in personal funds. He led that start-up company to exponential growth before joining the prestigious Baltimore Symphony Orchestra as group sales manager. In 2012, he moved to Wilmington to take over OperaDelaware, the 11th oldest opera company in the country. The classically trained opera singer has helped the Delaware company reach new heights through a new “festival” format that has garnered international attention. After leading through the COVID pandemic, Cooke emphasized the company’s “pop-up” performances with a mobile stage and has now put on more than 100 al fresco shows.
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Gayle Dillman
Gable Music Ventures
Recognizing a need for a platform for developing local artists to perform their original music, Gayle Dillman founded Gable Music Ventures in 2011. Over the past decade, it has helped to revitalize Delaware’s local music scene, giving original artists a place next to popular cover bands and touring acts. Gable Music Ventures has created
a handful of events over the years
to promote music and the arts, but none have been as successful as the Ladybug Music Festival, which is billed as America’s largest free gathering
of female artists or female-fronted bands, and has now expanded to both Wilmington and Milford. Over the past year, Dillman has been working to expand the Ladybug brand to one day host festivals in other major cities around the country.
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