Ravinia Chairman Don Civgin announced the hiring of Jeffrey P. Haydon as president and CEO of the nation's oldest music festival.
Haydon is currently CEO of the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts in New York and will replace Welz Kauffman, who announced last October that he would vacate the position in September 2020 after 20 successful years in that role.
Since September 2012, Haydon has run Caramoor, which, like Ravinia, presents a diverse array of concerts and music programs, mentors young professional musicians, and provides music education opportunities to children. Prior to Caramoor, Haydon was executive director of the Ojai Music Festival and also held positions with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Fort Wayne Philharmonic and Aspen Music Festival.
The not-for-profit Ravinia Festival typically presents more than 120 events each summer, including the annual summer residency of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, on 37 wooded acres on Chicago's North Shore. This season was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.