Marty Merkley (image courtesy of Chautauqua Institution)
CHAUTAUQUA – The person responsible for developing the annual entertainment schedule at Chautauqua Institution will be leaving his position at the end of this upcoming season.
In a media release sent out on Wednesday, Chautauqua announced that Vice President and Director of Programming Marty Merkley will retire from his post at the end of September 2015.
According to the release, Merkley has been at Chautauqua for 25 years and has seen the Institution through a major expansion in the breadth and quality of its artistic programming, with an emphasis on inter-arts collaboration.
He joined the Chautauqua staff as director of programming in 1991 and was appointed a vice president in 1995.
His tenure has seen the construction of two new major performance venues and millions of dollars in renovations to nearly every other artistic facility. He has also helped guide the continued evolution of the Chautauqua Amphitheater.
During the 65 days of the Chautauqua season, Merkley oversees some 1,000 summer faculty and staff in Chautauqua’s arts departments, producing some 2,000 events and managing all production services provided in the Institution’s 14 major performance venues.
As part of his farewell season, Merkley will direct two performances of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana during the 2015 Chautauqua season, on July 25 and Aug. 15, in the Amphitheater.
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