Ordway Center appoints new leader

The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in St. Paul has hired Jamie Grant to be its next president and CEO.

He replaces Patricia Mitchell, who retired at the end of December.

Grant, a native of Toronto, has more than 30 years' experience in arts management. He said he's long known the Twin Cities' reputation as a theater town, and is looking forward to getting to know it personally.

"When I was a young man I used to love to go to the Stratford Festival in Ontario," he said. "And I always felt I knew what was happening in Minnesota, because so many actors played at the Guthrie in winter and at the Stratford in summer. The fact that the theater scene has grown so much since then is exciting."

He said the "vibrant art scene" in the Twin Cities is "really exciting, and it means that the audiences in the community have incredible opportunities for wonderful, thought-provoking and diverse work. And I can't wait to be part of that scene."

Grant described himself as a good listener. "I think part of the job of the leader is to listen and reflect the community, and continue to grow the number of people that are proud to hang out at the Ordway," he said.

He comes most recently from the Long Center in Austin, Texas, which, like the Ordway, houses several different performing arts companies. He'll relocate to the Twin Cities in April.

A statement from the Ordway said Grant had been credited with "a huge increase in annual attendance, new programs and a significant growth in fundraising" at the Long Center.

The Ordway Center presents its own season of musical theater while also providing a performance home for the Minnesota Opera, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and The Schubert Club.