In the Fall of this academic year, I had the pleasure of interviewing Kathryn Reinardy ‘05, the current Vice President of Marketing and Communications for the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.
Kathryn is from the Milwaukee area and graduated from Lawrence University in 2005, with a Bachelors of Arts in History. After Lawrence, she pursued a Graduate Certification in Nonprofit Management from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She has been working at MSO for almost 15 years.
When asked about how she went from studying history to working in the arts, Kathryn said this job fit in between her life plans. As well, she has always loved to write and wanted to be adjacent to the arts in whatever career she ended up in. After graduation, she reached out to the Career Center and they connected her with an alum in the opera world. Reinardy also mentioned how her foundation in history really did help her in arts administration, as well as Lawrence as a whole. “The Lawrence Difference is real!” she exclaimed. She continued to describe how our liberal arts college creates strong writers, teaches adaptability, and hones in on creativity. These are all skills that go great with working with the arts.
While in her position, Kathryn says there really isn’t a typical day at work, as each one is different. However, that’s part of what she loves about it. In her role, she doesn’t stick to one thing. She partners frequently with various departments, such as fundraising, the box office, communications, public relations, and even data. Her current position involves a lot of artistic planning, helping others in their respective positions, and providing leadership direction.
For my fellow aspiring arts administrators, there are a few key traits that are bound to lead to success in the industry, according to Kathryn Reinardy. Having strong adaptability, critical thinking skills, curiosity, brain power, and a go-getter attitude really do make a difference. As well, it is so important to ask questions and observe, which is something LU tends to prepare its students for pretty well. Getting used to a workplace environment vs a classroom is also a crucial change to get used to, but is something once again we are capable of doing.
So, how can we prepare to enter the world of arts administration as current college students? Well, Reinardy has some thoughts on that. Engaging in the industry can be extremely helpful. Connect with alumni in your field through the Career Center or personal investigation. There are also arts marketer groups on social media or professional arts administration organizations you can join (Jillian Johnson in the Conservatory is a great resource for this). Lastly, try different things. Don’t be afraid of something just because it is new or you’ve never tried it before. Most people who study history don’t end up working at a world-renowned symphony orchestra, but Kathryn Reinardy did and genuinely loves it.
Good luck Lawrentians!
