DENVER – Colorado Business Committee for the Arts (CBCA) announces the winners of the inaugural Cultural Leadership Award. The Cultural Leadership Award recognizes outstanding alumni of CBCA’s Leadership Arts program who have made a significant impact on arts & culture in Colorado through a personal commitment to the arts. The initiative was spearheaded by the Leadership Arts Alumni Network.

2015 Cultural Leadership Award Winners

Lisa Gedgaudas (Leadership Arts 2009) – As the Create Denver Program Administrator for Denver Arts & Venues, Lisa works to develop and support Denver’s vibrant creative sector. She launched the Denver Music Summit, created the PS You Are Here neighborhood placemaking grant program, and is working on affordable housing for artists.  She serves on numerous committees to ensure creatives have sustainable and growing careers.

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If you’ve spent any time in Denver, you already know about the beautiful rolling hills in Ruby Hill Park. What you may not know is that Ruby Hill is the future home to the Levitt Pavilion, a new amphitheater that is being created by a nationwide non-profit dedicated to bringing free concerts to communities across the country. Chris Zacher is the Executive Director of the Levitt Pavilion, and he’s at the forefront of this community-driven goal to make the performing arts accessible to everyone. The goal of the Levitt Pavilion is to produce at least 50 free concerts per year, and the musicians that will be playing those concerts will be paid as well. It’s being considered a game-changer in the local music scene, which is currently surviving in an environment in which bands play for bar tabs and parking fare. The Levitt Pavilion is a very exciting addition to the large venue options in Denver, ensuring that musicians’ work is valued, while also ensuring the accessibility of the arts for everyone, regardless of economic situation.

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Colorado music industry professionals gathered at Denver’s Oriental Theater Monday night to voice their wants and needs regarding the city’s plans to build a new 7,500-seat amphitheater in southwest Denver.

The new amphitheater, which is scheduled to open in July 2016, will host 50 free concerts every summer and serve as a platform to support Colorado artists.

For the project, the city of Denver is partnering with Friends of Levitt Denver Pavilions, a Denver nonprofit supported by a national foundation called Levitt Pavilions, which hosts free outdoor concert series nationwide.

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