Events

Since 1998, Amy Lewis Hofland has been a leader in art and education at the Crow Museum. The Director’s Circle honors her vision for an art museum flourishing in cultural awareness and education. Donor-support is integral to this vision as we create the future Asian Art Museum of Dallas. As we move from a family collection into a museum in the public trust, the support of new donors will be vital to this journey filled with opportunity. All gifts made to the Director’s Circle directly support educational programs at the museum, a gesture reflecting our strong commitment to reach students and give them access to understanding Asia in an ever-changing world.

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. The program is intended to create dialogue about and opportunities for female musicians at all stages in their careers. The first two appointments as part of this program are the appointment of Pulitzer Prize-winner Julia Wolfe as Composer-in-Residence and Gemma New as the first female Principal Guest Conductor of the DSO. The inaugural Women in Classical Music Symposium will be presented in November 2019.

Noltemy unveiled the DSO’s Southern Dallas Residency in November 2018. Utilizing its resources including DSO musicians, staff members, chorus members, various concert services, educational resources and funding, the DSO is implementing a multi-faceted program which is being co-designed with community organizations, educators, local artists, city officials, the local cultural community and leaders in Southern Dallas. 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. The ultimate goal is for every child in the area who wants to play an instrument to have access to an instrument, lessons and performances free of charge.

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. This historic move will allow the DSA to manage day-to-day operations of their home venue as part of a comprehensive business plan to ensure the long-term sustainable financial future of the organization. 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 where she managed a 65-person team. She started her tenure at the BSO in 1996 as the Director of Sales and Marketing and was promoted to Chief Marketing Officer in 2007. Noltemy also served as the President of Boston 4 Celebrations (B4), a separate not-for-profit organization that produces the July 4th festivities in Boston, which are attended by 500,000 people and are broadcast globally on Bloomberg's multi-channel network. She oversaw more than $46 million in ticket sales and other earned revenue plus a corporate sponsorship program of $6 million annually. She also successfully raised funds for numerous projects including the July 4 Celebration, Orchestra in Residence Community Programs, free community concerts, television shows, online initiatives and a new video production studio at Symphony Hall.

Noltemy was the strategist behind the BSO’s new media efforts, including the BSO’s digital download service, Internet TV, podcasts and the BSO’s website, which is the most visited website of any orchestra in the U.S. She has executive produced numerous television shows including two seasons of New Tanglewood Tales, distributed by American Public Media, and three Boston Pops television programs, two of which received New England Emmy Awards.

In 2002, after 15 years of freelance writing, I decided to write a book about the history of American women distance runners. After six months of research, my queasy gizzard told me I was missing a bigger story.

I found it in John Cumming’s Runners and Walkers, a 19th Century Sports Chronicle. He barely mentioned the late 19th century professional women endurance walkers who from 1876-1881, dazzled America with their on and off track exploits. 

Convinced I’d found something spectacular, I made the first of five trips to the Library of Congress. I also traveled to Brooklyn, Chicago, Fond du Lac, San Francisco and Sacramento. In Winchester, VA, I found Charlotte and Gerry Curtis, sisters and great-granddaughters of May Marshall, the most prolific pedestrienne. They gave me an invaluable scrapbook of their ancestor’s exploits. 

All the artifacts and updated stories were giving the book substance to what would become The Pedestriennes: American’s Forgotten Superstars.

In 2007, I joined the DFW Writer’s Workshop; four years later, I enrolled in UNT’s Journalism School. That summer, I was named a charter inductee into the Mayborn Author’s Guild, my first national writing award.

The book still failed to generate agent’s interest. 

At the same time, I saw several author friends getting raw deals from agents and publishers. Tragically, Charlotte Curtis died; I wanted Gerry, who is not in good health, to see the book come to fruition. Traditional publishing would take 12-18 months, at least. 

I decided to self-publish.

Hoping to build on my Mayborn success, I entered it in three more contests, winning two.

It took 12 years, spending much of my savings, my son’s college fund, and lots of dead ends. But in the end, I got what I wanted, the first book ever written about the pedestriennes. 

And we’re just getting started.