Kathy Kucsan, PhD, has over twenty-five years of experience in the nonprofit arts world. She is Co-Founder and former Education/Artistic Director of the Rocky Mountain Center for Musical Arts (now part of the Colorado Music Festival). She has over 35 years of music teaching experience, from K-12 through the undergraduate level. She was an active performer (oboist) and is a former member of the Boulder Philharmonic and Sinfonia of Colorado. She is an active presenter, and has given grant workshops for Boulder County Arts Alliance, the University of Colorado College of Music, and other local organizations. Kathy has served as the Boulder County appointee and Vice-Chair to the Scientific & Cultural Facilities District (SCFD) Board of Directors. She is the Chair of the Advisory Board to the American Music Research Center (AMRC) at the University of Colorado School of Music. Past service includes seven years on the Boulder County Cultural Council and four years on the Arts & Culture Advisory Committee at the Denver Foundation. Dr. Kucsan holds a Bachelors degree in music education from Indiana University, and an MME and PhD from the University of Colorado-Boulder.
View her 2012 Pacesetter Award acceptance speech.
Recent Presentations
Talks Under the Tent – Pre-concert Lecture, 2018 season (“It’s Musical” Scheherezade)
Colorado Music Festival & Center for Musical Arts, July, 2018
Panelist/Thought Leader
Community Foundation Donor Salon, June, 2018
Panelist, Arts in Community
Community Foundation Leadership Fellows/Museum of Boulder, May 2018
On Creativity – Boulder Center for Conscious Community, February, 2018
Board Best Practices – Building an Effective Arts Organization Board
Boulder County Arts Alliance/The Collective, January, 2018
Talks Under the Tent – pre-concert lectures, Colorado Music Festival, 2017 season (Beethoven #9, July 14; The Planets, July 27)
Integrity for Professionals – Guest Speaker, Leadership “Hot Spot” presented by Crafted Leadership. Fort Collins, CO, May 26, 2017
Fiscal Sponsorship for Artists and Arts Organizations – Business of Arts Workshop, Boulder County Arts Alliance, April 20, 2017
Artist Statement Workshop, College of Visual and Performing Arts, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO – Introduction to Arts Entrepreneurship and Working Artist classes, Fall 2016
Navigating Boulder’s Funding Landscape: A Town Hall – Facilitator for large-scale discussion involving significant arts organizations in Boulder County. May 16, 2016.
Grantsmanship and Grants Research presentations, Entrepreneurship Center for Music (ECM), University of Colorado – Delivered to Arts Administration and Entrepreneurial Artist classes, per semester since 2010.
Culture and Art Connect Us – Guest Opinion, Daily Camera, June 2015.
Presentation to the Board of Directors of Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF) – Regarding SCFD reauthorization, with Q&A session, May 20, 2015.
The Other Side of the Table: What Funders Want – Panel discussion sponsored by Boulder County Arts Leaders Forum (BCALF). Panelists included Richard Turbiak, Chair, Boulder Arts Commission; Margaret Hunt, Executive Director, Colorado Creative Industries; Maegan Vallejo, Boulder Community Foundation; November 2015.
Solving the Grants Puzzle: A Three-Module Grantsmanship Workshop – In collaboration with Boulder County Arts Alliance, January 25–27, 2015.
Get to Know Your Funders: The Insider’s Perspective on Public Funding for the Arts and Culture in Colorado – Panelist (with Margaret Hunt) at Colorado Creative Industries Summit, May 2, 2014.
Get to Know Your Funders: The Insider’s Perspective on Public Funding for the Arts and
Culture in Boulder County – “Business of Arts” panel, Boulder County Arts Alliance, November 12, 2014.
Grant Writing Basics – Lunch & Learn program, presented by Boulder County Arts Alliance, September 23, 2014.
Featured Guest, A Boulder View, Channel 8 – cable television interview with City of Boulder Policy Advisor Carl Castillo regarding the state of arts in Boulder County, the SCFD, and trends in the cultural community, April 2014.
Don Campbell’s Legacy: Music for Healing and Transformation: A Look Back at Twenty
Years of Mentorship and Friendship – Presented to the Porter/Campbell Memorial
Symposium, American Music Research Center, October 13–15, 2013.
Music and Sound for Healing and Transformation – Presented at the Boulder Center for Conscious Community, April 17, 2013.
Effective Grant Writing for Individuals and Organizations – Two-part presentation sponsored by the Boulder County Arts Alliance, September/October 2012.