Kimmel Center President Anne Ewers and Music Icon Kenny Gamble Help Launch Fall Issue of College’s Pathways Magazine

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 12, 2010 —Anne Ewers, president and chief executive officer of the Kimmel Center, and Kenny Gamble, song producer/writer and community developer, will join the College to launch the latest issue of the College’s magazine, Pathways.

The breakfast launch will take place at 8 a.m., Monday, Oct. 18 at the College’s Center for Business and Industry, 18th and Callowhill streets.

Ewers is the cover story for the fall issue of Pathways, which focuses on the College’s art and music programs and the importance of art and music to Greater Philadelphia. The magazine also features an interview with Gamble about how he got started in the music business, his community development corporation and his tips for students interested in careers in music.

Pathways is a color magazine that highlights the academic programs, courses, faculty, students and staff at the College, as well as prominent leaders and significant issues in the region.

An Illinois native, Ewers oversees a $35 million annual budget and nearly 500 full- and part-time employees who operate the $235 million Kimmel Center, home to six cultural and entertainment entities including the Philadelphia Orchestra, Peter Nero and the Philly Pops, PHILADANCO, The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and American Theater Arts for Youth.

Ewers also is in charge of operations at the nearby Merriam Theater, as well as the Academy of Music, the home to the Opera Company of Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Ballet.

In the cover story, Ewers discusses her future plans for the Kimmel Center, how she got started in music as a performer and then as a business executive, and the upcoming Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts, April 7 – May 1, 2011. Ewers was one of the driving forces behind the festival, which will involve more than 100 performing, visual and cultural entities and 32 newly commissioned works of art throughout Philadelphia.

“It’s an opportunity to really put the spotlight on the arts in Philadelphia. There's so much that we have to offer and the world needs to know," she told Pathways.

Philadelphia native Kenny Gamble, a legendary rhythm and blues song writer/producer and influential community developer, talks to Pathways about how he got involved in the music business and what was behind his creation in 1993 of Universal Community Homes, a nonprofit community development corporation which has built and rehabilitated many homes and schools in the Greater Philadelphia area.

A National Academy of Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee and a recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award, Gamble told Pathways that one of the great things about music, art and culture is that they have a life of their own that lasts and permeates society.
“Music, art and culture outlive the generations they come from,” Gamble said, adding that they not only shape society, but provide valuable windows of insight into past civilizations.

During the 1960s, Gamble said he worked as a medical technician at Jefferson Hospital, owned a record store in South Philadelphia, wrote songs and performed at night. His advice to students interested in music as a career – pursue your dream, but also keep "a lot of irons in the fire" so that you can pay your bills while learning the nuances of the music business.