The NOCCA Foundation has announced the appointment of acclaimed musician Adonis Rose as its new executive director, following a comprehensive national search. Rose, a NOCCA alumnus and Grammy-award winner, will assume the role on July 1, 2024.
Rose is a Grammy-award winning artist, composer, educator and producer from New Orleans. He has played with jazz legends like Terence Blanchard, Betty Carter and Wynton Marsalis, and performed on renowned stages worldwide. Rose has over fifty recordings to his credit and has served as executive director of the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra since 2017.
The NOCCA Foundation supports the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA), which provides tuition-free arts education to students across Louisiana. Rose graduated from NOCCA’s Jazz department and has since built a distinguished career in music.
“I cannot tell you how excited I am to return to NOCCA in this new role,” said Mr. Rose. “I began as a student, visited often as a guest artist, and will now head the nonprofit organization that gives NOCCA’s talented students and their dedicated teachers the support they need to excel in their work.”
Since NOCCA’s founding 50 years ago, the NOCCA Foundation has managed a range of initiatives to enhance NOCCA’s educational environment. The Foundation’s Student Support program helps NOCCA’s young artists pay for art supplies, summer training at programs across the country, ACT prep courses, and college application fees. The Foundation also oversees a vast Artists-in-Residence program, arts workshops for the community and capital campaigns to improve and expand the NOCCA campus.
The Foundation’s board president, NOCCA alum Shanekah Johnson, said, “We are thrilled to welcome Adonis to this leadership position. He understands what makes NOCCA special, and we know he will help strengthen NOCCA’s position as one of America’s most vibrant and important schools for young artists.”
Rose succeeds Sally Perry, who is retiring after 25 years as executive director.
For more information about NOCCA and the NOCCA Foundation, visit NOCCA’s website and the Foundation’s website.
Adonis Rose
