January 31, 2019

Dear friends,

As many of you know, our executive director, Richard Modiano, has decided to step down from his position on February 1. In the nine years he has led Beyond Baroque, Richard has done an extraordinary job of building our programming, membership, and wider community. Thanks to his tireless efforts, Beyond Baroque is stronger than ever. We are profoundly grateful to Richard for his efforts on behalf of Beyond Baroque and of the wider literary arts community of Southern California.

Fortunately for all of us, Beyond Baroque will continue to benefit from Richard’s knowledge and generous spirit as he will continue to serve as theater manager for the next year.

I’m very pleased to announce that Beyond Baroque’s current assistant director, Quentin Ring, will step into the role of executive director on February 1. Many of you know Quentin already. Since joining Beyond Baroque five years ago, he’s led the effort to grow our community in a number of crucial ways. He recently brought the Southern California Poetry Festival to Beyond Baroque, oversaw our incredibly successful 50th anniversary programming, brought Beyond Baroque into the national Poetry Coalition as a founding member, and helped secure an array of new funding for our programs. Prior to working at Beyond Baroque, he studied poetry and poetics at the University of Chicago, worked in international education as an instructor and nonprofit administrator, and was employed as a freelance grant writer.

If you haven’t had a chance to get to know Quentin, I think you’ll find he’s incredibly dedicated to our community and to supporting Los Angeles’ diverse poets, writers, and artists. The Board of Trustees is delighted to welcome him into his new role, and I hope you will do the same.

For more information, you can read our press release here.

Best regards,

Andy Schwartz
President of the Board of Trustees
Beyond Baroque Foundation