“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Ashley Sidon as the new Executive Director of the Civic Music Association!” said Todd Jones, president of the Civic Music Association Board of Directors. “Ashley brings a wealth of experience to CMA from her 10 years as the Executive Director of the Zenith Music Festival. And as an accomplished musician, she will also imbue the ED role with a musician’s passion, creativity, and insight as she leads CMA into the next century of bringing “provocative, world-class musical performances” to central Iowa.”
Respected as both a soloist and chamber musician, Ashley Sandor Sidon has traveled the world touring as a soloist and member of some of the world’s leading ensembles and working with some of today’s leading musicians. She has a great experience leading organizations and hopes to bring that experience into her role as CMA’s new director. Ashley looks forward to continuing CMA’s tradition of excellence by bringing the best music to Des Moines. She intends to champion diversity in the artists brought to Des Moines, as well as diversity in artist programming, and highlight underrepresented musicians and composers. An advocate for new music, Ashley has commissioned and premiered countless pieces by modern composers from across the globe, and hopes to continue supporting new composers at CMA.
As a long-time teacher and professor at Drake, a major goal for Ashely will be connecting to newer and younger audiences through educational opportunities supported by CMA. “It is important for the future of classical, jazz, and live music to get kids involved from the start,” says Ashley. “It’s important for kids to experience a diverse array of offerings in music, and CMA is one of the few organizations in town that offers such an array of programming.” Ashley feels very strongly that connecting to youth is the best way to ensure that music remains vital to a modern world.
Ashley has big and bold goals, but that is nothing new for CMA. CMA has a strong tradition of bringing big ideas to the Des Moines music scene, always fighting to bring world-class performers to the area. Much of this is thanks to the generosity of CMA’s many partners across Des Moines. Ashley intends to not only strengthen the bonds CMA has with its current partners, but also to keep that number growing.
When she’s not busy directing organizations, commissioning works, teaching, and performing, Ashley enjoys hiking and has a passion for animals, specifically dogs and birds. One memorable experience for her comes from when she was touring as a soloist with Zabrze Philharmonic Orchestra in Poland, and the director gave Ashley a tour of an underground mine. This mine was deeper underground than the Eiffel Tour is tall, and had been repurposed into a concert hall, complete with a stage and significant seating. Upon entering, a quartet had already been there practicing for sometime.
Dr. Ashley Sidon is excited to lead Civic Music into its centennial year, embracing the future of the music world by showcasing world-class and emerging artists from diverse backgrounds and building on the mission to enrich our community through evocative musical performances. “CMA has such a rich history of presenting world-class concerts in Des Moines.” Says Ashley. “I’m so honored to be joining CMA during this pivotal time and am looking forward to building on the tradition of excellence.”
Please join us in welcoming Dr. Ashely Sidon to lead the CMA team!
