CEO News

Dallas' AT&T Performing Arts Center snags new CEO from New Jersey

Winspear Opera House, there's a new sheriff in town.

Photo by Carter Rose

The AT&T Performing Arts Center has a new boss: Warren Tranquada, currently an executive at the performing arts center in Newark, New Jersey, will serve as AT&T's new president and CEO.

Tranquada replaces Debbie Storey, who has been president and CEO since 2017. According to a release, he'll begin July 25.

Tranquada is executive VP and COO of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, which AT&T Performing Arts Center Board of Directors chairperson Danny Tobey hails as one of the top performing arts centers in the nation.

In a statement, Tranquada says he's eager to begin working with the team at the AT&T Performing Arts Center and its partners.

"Dallas has a national reputation as a thriving cultural hub, both for its vibrant Arts District and the diverse arts community throughout the city," Tranquada says.

Tranquada has been with the New Jersey Performing Arts Center since 2009, playing roles in finance, ticketing, strategic planning, real estate development, new business development, special projects, fundraising, arts education planning, and more.

The facility has a $50-million-dollar annual budget as well as a national reputation for its programming, business model, and role as an economic catalyst for downtown Newark. (ATTPAC's budget by comparison is about $20 million.)

His boss, NJPAC president and CEO John Schreiber, says the AT&T Performing Arts Center couldn’t have made a better choice, calling Tranquada "a uniquely wise, thoughtful, creative, effective, and innovative leader," as well as a "genuine community- and consensus-builder."

Prior to NJPAC, he was a co-founder and partner with consulting firm Aperio in Newark and Toronto; a VP at Chase Manhattan Bank in New York; and an associate consultant with Bain & Company Canada in Toronto. He has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from McGill University in Montreal and an MBA degree from Harvard Business School, with a focus on nonprofit business structures and social-purpose investment vehicles.

In a statement, Tranquada says he sees "great potential for the future of the AT&T Performing Arts Center to build on its own tradition of being an anchor in the Arts District, and the city at large, and to deepen its impact for both residents and artistic organizations in this diverse and growing city."

Tranquada and his wife Alexine have three children. In his spare time he enjoys playing hockey, competing in triathlons, and enjoying all forms of the performing arts.

The AT&T Performing Arts Center is a nonprofit foundation operating and programing a 10-acre campus that includes the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House, Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre, Annette Strauss Square, and Elaine D. and Charles A. Sammons Park.

Storey announced her intention to step down in fall 2021. Her legacy includes leading the Center through the pandemic and leaving with a balanced budget. She worked to expand the Center's arts education and community engagement programs and reached a groundbreaking partnership with Broadway Dallas (formerly known as Dallas Summer Musicals).

concerts

Music and Fashion

Miranda Lambert's 'Velvet Rodeo' wardrobe stars in new DFW exhibition

“Miranda Lambert: Velvet Rodeo” at National Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame

Photo by Tyler Conrad

“Miranda Lambert: Velvet Rodeo” will open on November 7 at the National Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame.

Country star Miranda Lambert is bringing a bit of Las Vegas glamour and bling to North Texas. Her one-of-a-kind wardrobe from her "Velvet Rodeo" residency will go on display at the National Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame in Fort Worth when its new Icons Gallery opens November 7.

According to a release, the exhibition, called "Miranda Lambert: Velvet Rodeo," was created in collaboration with Lambert, and will feature costumes from the singer's Las Vegas residency, which ran from September 2022 to April 2024.

Lambert said her inspiration came from an earlier visit to the Fort Worth museum, where she spotted historic Western pieces that she photographed and sent to her stylist, Tiffany Gifford. They combined those influences with the glitz of Elvis Presley's heyday to create the "Velvet Rodeo" wardrobe.

“Seeing these pieces now have a life beyond the stage as part of the Museum’s new Icons Gallery feels really full circle and special,” Lambert said in a statement.

Visitors will now have the opportunity to study garments usually seen in motion and under stage lights, appreciating the details that help transform clothing into an essential part of a performance.

The Icons Gallery is part of the Museum’s 16,000-square-foot expansion, which introduces new galleries and experiences that explore the accomplishments and influence of women of the West. The $19 million expansion features a new entrance facing Dickies Arena, new galleries including a photography gallery, an event space accommodating up to 250, and the new Cowgirl Carousel.

Miranda Lambert, right, with rodeo queens onstage at the 45th Cowgirl Hall of Fame Induction Luncheon at Dickies Arena. Photo by Ashley Gongora

Lambert, who was inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame in 2021, is an active mounted shooting competitor and horsewoman, giving her a connection to the West that reaches beyond her music. "Velvet Rodeo" brings together Lambert's identity as a cowgirl and her creative expression as a performer.

“Miranda’s confidence, determination and independence make her a wonderful representative of the women we honor,” says Pat Riley, executive director of the National Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame, in the release. “Opening our Icons Gallery with this collaboration celebrates her accomplishments while giving visitors a new way to connect with a cowgirl they know and admire.”

According to a museum spokesperson, the temporary exhibition will remain on display for at least one year; no specific end date was given.

In preparation for the expansion grand opening, the Cowgirl will be closed to the public beginning October 19 and will reopen November 7, with a members-only preview at 10 am and a public opening at noon.

celebrities country music exhibitions-visual-arts fashion miranda lambert museums music national cowgirl museum temporary exhibition