Michael Kaiser
Encyclopedia
Michael M. Kaiser is president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
in Washington, D.C.
Dubbed "the turnaround king" for his work at such arts institutions as the Kansas City Ballet
, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
, American Ballet Theatre
and the Royal Opera House
, Kaiser has earned international renown for his expertise in arts management.
, Kaiser grew up in New Rochelle, New York
, earning an undergraduate degree in economics
and minor in music
from Brandeis University
, Magna Cum Laude, and a masters degree in management
from the MIT Sloan School of Management
. His study of vocal music reflected an early passion for the arts, and while he hoped for a career as an opera singer he was, as he put it, "just dreadful"
, a strategic planning company, whose clients included General Motors
and IBM
. But in 1985, spurred by his lifelong love of the arts, he sold his management consultancy to enter the world of arts management.
as general manager in 1985, the company was on the brink of bankruptcy. Within two years, Kaiser had revamped and energized the troupe's fundraising, and attracted critical attention and acclaim through ambitious programming initiatives. His leadership enabled the company to pay off the accumulated deficit, which had nearly led to its closure.
Kaiser joined the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
as executive director in 1991. The company faced extreme challenges, stemming from a $1.5 million accumulated deficit. Kaiser developed a strategic plan with the company's board and staff, targeting fundraising and marketing as key areas for overhaul. Recognizing the company's broad, international appeal, Kaiser set about putting the dancers before a much larger audience. In December 1992, the company was featured on The Donahue Show, then the premiere daytime television program. In an unprecedented move, the full one-hour program was devoted to the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, an event viewed by 18 million Americans. In 1993, the company performed at President Bill Clinton
's inaugural gala, which was broadcast to an audience of 88 million. During Kaiser's tenure as executive director, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater eliminated its deficit, increased the efficiency of its touring programs, and enhanced its national and international image.
In 1995, Kaiser became executive director of American Ballet Theatre
. With an accumulated deficit of $5.5 million, the company was struggling on the brink of closure. Ticket revenues were insufficient to meet the company's needs and the towering debt had reduced the board, management, and staff to a daily struggle to keep afloat, forestalling any strategic or long-range planning.
Kaiser set about finding the large donations needed to reduce the $5.5 million deficit. He revamped the touring program, reaching out to cities across the United States as well as in Asia and Europe. He created new education programs to nurture both new dancers and new audiences. And he fueled aggressive new marketing programs, burnishing American Ballet Theatre's long-held reputation as a "company of stars." Within three years, the company had eliminated the entire accumulated deficit and established a surplus. After his success at American Ballet Theatre, the Chicago Tribune
coined the sobriquet
"The Turnaround King" for Kaiser.
In 1998, Kaiser assumed leadership of the Royal Opera House
in London
, home of the Royal Opera, London
and the Royal Ballet. In the midst of a major renovation, faced with a projected $30 million deficit, and flailing in a firestorm of criticism from the public, its board, and its patrons, the Royal Opera House was facing the most severe crisis of its history. Despite press reports predicting, even welcoming, the demise of the organization, and vitriol from patrons, Kaiser set to work, negotiating with the unions, placating the creative staff of the two resident companies, guiding the new facility through its final construction and problematic technical and stagecraft operations, and beginning the delicate work of repairing the institution's reputation as he worked to erase its debt. Within two years, the deficit was paid off, the new building paid for and opened, and an endowment fund established to protect the security of the Royal Opera House's future.
His first undertaking was the "Sondheim Celebration", an unprecedented staging of six musicals by Stephen Sondheim
, within one season, under one roof: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Company
, A Little Night Music
, Sunday in the Park with George
, Merrily We Roll Along
, and Passion
.
Critical response to the Sondheim Celebration was extraordinary, and the box office opened to record-breaking sales.
Two other theatrical achievements were a retrospective of Tennessee Williams
' work and a highly acclaimed celebration of the ten plays of August Wilson
presented in sequential order.
Having set the bar high, Kaiser continued to upgrade the Kennedy Center's artistic profile, negotiating long-term agreements with the Mariinsky Opera and the Mariinsky Ballet
, the Royal Shakespeare Company
, New York City Ballet
, and the Bolshoi Ballet
that ensured their regular appearance at the Kennedy Center; producing major festivals of the arts including "The Festival of China", "JAPAN: culture+hyperculture," and "Arabesque: Arts of the Arab World;" each bringing hundreds of international performers and artists to American audiences for the first time; and expanding the Kennedy Center's jazz and family programming. He has expanded educational programming, increasing the annual education budget to $25 million for programs reaching young people and adults—more than any other arts institution.
Long committed to teaching and education, Kaiser has made the Kennedy Center a university of sorts for arts organizations and arts managers, creating the Kennedy Center Arts Management Institute to provide advanced training for young arts administrators and developing a series of programs to help train others in the field.
He has created a "capacity-building" program, that offers mentoring services to the leaders of 33 African American, Latino, Asian American and Native American arts groups from across the United States, and has instituted similar programs for over 250 arts organizations in New York City and 74 in the Washington, D.C. metro area. He has established a fellows program for arts managers, enabling students and practicing arts managers to study at the Kennedy Center in a practicum that exposes them to the day to day work of the center's departments, from marketing and fundraising to programming and operations.
In June 2009, Kaiser became a weekly blogger for The Huffington Post
.
, and is the author of five books:
, Little Rock and Susan Kaiser founded a non-profit pre-school named "Bread and Roses". Kaiser donated a kidney to his sister, Susan, in 1988.
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts center located on the Potomac River, adjacent to the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Dubbed "the turnaround king" for his work at such arts institutions as the Kansas City Ballet
Kansas City Ballet
Founded in 1957, Kansas City Ballet is a 25-member professional ballet company under the direction of Artistic Director William Whitener and Executive Director Jeffrey J. Bentley. Kansas City Ballet performs three mixed repertory seasons per year as well as the ever-popular Nutcracker...
, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is a modern dance company based in New York, New York. It was founded in 1958 by choreographer and dancer Alvin Ailey...
, American Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre , based in New York City, was one of the foremost ballet companies of the 20th century. It continues as a leading dance company in the world today...
and the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
, Kaiser has earned international renown for his expertise in arts management.
Early life
Born October 27, 1953, in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Kaiser grew up in New Rochelle, New York
New Rochelle, New York
New Rochelle is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state.The town was settled by refugee Huguenots in 1688 who were fleeing persecution in France...
, earning an undergraduate degree in economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
and minor in music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
from Brandeis University
Brandeis University
Brandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
, Magna Cum Laude, and a masters degree in management
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
from the MIT Sloan School of Management
MIT Sloan School of Management
The MIT Sloan School of Management is the business school of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge, Massachusetts....
. His study of vocal music reflected an early passion for the arts, and while he hoped for a career as an opera singer he was, as he put it, "just dreadful"
Career
Kaiser's early career focused on management consulting. In 1981, he founded Kaiser AssociatesKaiser Associates
Kaiser Associates is a boutique strategy consulting firm based in Washington, DC and London, England, with offices in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Cape Town, South Africa, Toronto, Canada and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The firm was founded in 1981 as a spin-off from Strategic Planning Associates by Michael...
, a strategic planning company, whose clients included General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
and IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
. But in 1985, spurred by his lifelong love of the arts, he sold his management consultancy to enter the world of arts management.
Transition to arts management
When he joined the Kansas City BalletKansas City Ballet
Founded in 1957, Kansas City Ballet is a 25-member professional ballet company under the direction of Artistic Director William Whitener and Executive Director Jeffrey J. Bentley. Kansas City Ballet performs three mixed repertory seasons per year as well as the ever-popular Nutcracker...
as general manager in 1985, the company was on the brink of bankruptcy. Within two years, Kaiser had revamped and energized the troupe's fundraising, and attracted critical attention and acclaim through ambitious programming initiatives. His leadership enabled the company to pay off the accumulated deficit, which had nearly led to its closure.
Kaiser joined the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is a modern dance company based in New York, New York. It was founded in 1958 by choreographer and dancer Alvin Ailey...
as executive director in 1991. The company faced extreme challenges, stemming from a $1.5 million accumulated deficit. Kaiser developed a strategic plan with the company's board and staff, targeting fundraising and marketing as key areas for overhaul. Recognizing the company's broad, international appeal, Kaiser set about putting the dancers before a much larger audience. In December 1992, the company was featured on The Donahue Show, then the premiere daytime television program. In an unprecedented move, the full one-hour program was devoted to the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, an event viewed by 18 million Americans. In 1993, the company performed at President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
's inaugural gala, which was broadcast to an audience of 88 million. During Kaiser's tenure as executive director, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater eliminated its deficit, increased the efficiency of its touring programs, and enhanced its national and international image.
In 1995, Kaiser became executive director of American Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre , based in New York City, was one of the foremost ballet companies of the 20th century. It continues as a leading dance company in the world today...
. With an accumulated deficit of $5.5 million, the company was struggling on the brink of closure. Ticket revenues were insufficient to meet the company's needs and the towering debt had reduced the board, management, and staff to a daily struggle to keep afloat, forestalling any strategic or long-range planning.
Kaiser set about finding the large donations needed to reduce the $5.5 million deficit. He revamped the touring program, reaching out to cities across the United States as well as in Asia and Europe. He created new education programs to nurture both new dancers and new audiences. And he fueled aggressive new marketing programs, burnishing American Ballet Theatre's long-held reputation as a "company of stars." Within three years, the company had eliminated the entire accumulated deficit and established a surplus. After his success at American Ballet Theatre, the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
coined the sobriquet
Sobriquet
A sobriquet is a nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another. It is usually a familiar name, distinct from a pseudonym assumed as a disguise, but a nickname which is familiar enough such that it can be used in place of a real name without the need of explanation...
"The Turnaround King" for Kaiser.
In 1998, Kaiser assumed leadership of the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, home of the Royal Opera, London
Royal Opera, London
The Royal Opera is an opera company based in central London, resident at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Along with the English National Opera, it is one of the two principal opera companies in London. Founded in 1946 as the Covent Garden Opera Company, it was known by that title until 1968...
and the Royal Ballet. In the midst of a major renovation, faced with a projected $30 million deficit, and flailing in a firestorm of criticism from the public, its board, and its patrons, the Royal Opera House was facing the most severe crisis of its history. Despite press reports predicting, even welcoming, the demise of the organization, and vitriol from patrons, Kaiser set to work, negotiating with the unions, placating the creative staff of the two resident companies, guiding the new facility through its final construction and problematic technical and stagecraft operations, and beginning the delicate work of repairing the institution's reputation as he worked to erase its debt. Within two years, the deficit was paid off, the new building paid for and opened, and an endowment fund established to protect the security of the Royal Opera House's future.
Kennedy Center
In 2001, Kaiser joined the Kennedy Center as president. Unlike the organizations which had established his reputation as a savior of companies on the brink of disaster, the Kennedy Center was financially stable and not in need of a turnaround. But Kaiser set the goal of enhancing the Center's status as the nation's center for the performing arts, a destination for both American and international arts lovers.His first undertaking was the "Sondheim Celebration", an unprecedented staging of six musicals by Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
, within one season, under one roof: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Company
Company (musical)
Company is a musical with a book by George Furth and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The original production was nominated for a record-setting fourteen Tony Awards and won six....
, A Little Night Music
A Little Night Music
A Little Night Music is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Inspired by the Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night, it involves the romantic lives of several couples. Its title is a literal English translation of the German name for Mozart's Serenade...
, Sunday in the Park with George
Sunday in the Park with George
Sunday in the Park with George is a 1984 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. The musical was inspired by the painting "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" by Georges Seurat...
, Merrily We Roll Along
Merrily We Roll Along (musical)
Merrily We Roll Along is a musical with a book by George Furth and lyrics and music by Stephen Sondheim. It is based on the 1934 play of the same name by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart....
, and Passion
Passion (musical)
Passion is a musical adapted from Ettore Scola's film Passione d'Amore . The book is by James Lapine, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Central subjects include obsession, beauty, power, manipulation, passion, illness, and love...
.
Critical response to the Sondheim Celebration was extraordinary, and the box office opened to record-breaking sales.
Two other theatrical achievements were a retrospective of Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
' work and a highly acclaimed celebration of the ten plays of August Wilson
August Wilson
August Wilson was an American playwright whose work included a series of ten plays, The Pittsburgh Cycle, for which he received two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama...
presented in sequential order.
Having set the bar high, Kaiser continued to upgrade the Kennedy Center's artistic profile, negotiating long-term agreements with the Mariinsky Opera and the Mariinsky Ballet
Mariinsky Ballet
The Mariinsky Ballet is a classical ballet company based at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in the 18th century and originally known as the Imperial Russian Ballet, the Mariinsky Ballet is one of the world's leading ballet companies...
, the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
, New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Leon Barzin was the company's first music director. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company...
, and the Bolshoi Ballet
Bolshoi Ballet
The Bolshoi Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia. Founded in 1776, the Bolshoi is among the world's oldest ballet companies, however it only achieved worldwide acclaim by the early 20th century, when Moscow became the...
that ensured their regular appearance at the Kennedy Center; producing major festivals of the arts including "The Festival of China", "JAPAN: culture+hyperculture," and "Arabesque: Arts of the Arab World;" each bringing hundreds of international performers and artists to American audiences for the first time; and expanding the Kennedy Center's jazz and family programming. He has expanded educational programming, increasing the annual education budget to $25 million for programs reaching young people and adults—more than any other arts institution.
Long committed to teaching and education, Kaiser has made the Kennedy Center a university of sorts for arts organizations and arts managers, creating the Kennedy Center Arts Management Institute to provide advanced training for young arts administrators and developing a series of programs to help train others in the field.
He has created a "capacity-building" program, that offers mentoring services to the leaders of 33 African American, Latino, Asian American and Native American arts groups from across the United States, and has instituted similar programs for over 250 arts organizations in New York City and 74 in the Washington, D.C. metro area. He has established a fellows program for arts managers, enabling students and practicing arts managers to study at the Kennedy Center in a practicum that exposes them to the day to day work of the center's departments, from marketing and fundraising to programming and operations.
Arts in Crisis
Kaiser launched Arts In Crisis: A Kennedy Center Initiative in early February 2009, which provides free arts management consultation to arts organizations across the United States. Within 24 hours of unveiling the site, the program received 110 emails from 31 states. "[The initiative] is a high-tech support service through which arts administrators can talk to the Center's personnel about the challenges of shrinking income, budget-conscious audiences and other difficulties in keeping the doors open." Arts in Crisis: A Kennedy Center Initiative is a response to the emergency facing arts organizations throughout the United States. The program, open to non-profit 501(c)(3) performing arts organizations, provides free and confidential planning assistance in areas pertinent to maintaining a vital performing arts organization during a troubled economy. Over 100 experienced arts leaders from across the country are volunteering their time to serve as mentors to organizations in need. Since the initiative's launch in February 2009, the Kennedy Center has hosted symposia and arts community conversations in major cities across the country.Arts in Crisis: 50 State Tour
In June, 2009, the Kennedy Center launched a 50 state tour supporting the Arts in Crisis initiative. Michael Kaiser travels to cities in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia to lead arts management symposia. At each event, hosted by a local arts organization, Kaiser addresses the challenges facing non-profit performing arts organizations in each city through such areas as fundraising, building more effective Boards of Trustees, budgeting, and marketing.Other activities
Kaiser is also a cultural ambassador for the U.S. State Department, advising performing arts organizations around the world on building institutional strength through marketing, strategic planning, and fundraising. He has created an online educational forum for arts administrators, where professionals and students in the field can share experience, ask and answer questions, and seek employment and board opportunities.In June 2009, Kaiser became a weekly blogger for The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post is an American news website and content-aggregating blog founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, featuring liberal minded columnists and various news sources. The site offers coverage of politics, theology, media, business, entertainment, living, style,...
.
Awards
- Dance Magazine Award. 2001
- Capezio Award, 2002
- Helen Hayes Washington Post Award for Innovative Leadership in the Theater Community, 2003
- St. Petersburg 300 Medal, 2004
- Washingtonian of the Year, 2004
- US Department of State Citation, 2005
- Blacks in Dance Award, 2005
- First American to receive China's "Award for Cultural Exchange", 2005
- The Order of the Mexican EagleOrder of the Aztec EagleThe Order of the Aztec Eagle is a Mexican order and is the highest decoration awarded to foreigners in the country.It was created by decree on December 29, 1933 by President Abelardo L. Rodríguez as a reward to services given to Mexico or humankind by foreigners...
, 2006 - Musical America 's 2006 ImpresarioImpresarioAn impresario is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays or operas; analogous to a film producer in filmmaking, television production and an angel investor in business...
of the Year - Kahlil Gibran "Spirit of Humanity" Award from Arab American Institutue Foundation, 2009
- George Peabody Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Music in America, 2009
- Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, Georgetown University, 2011
Kaiser's publications
Kaiser has served as a research economist for Nobel prize-winning economist, Wassily LeontiefWassily Leontief
Wassily Wassilyovich Leontief , was a Russian-American economist notable for his research on how changes in one economic sector may have an effect on other sectors. Leontief won the Nobel Committee's Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1973, and three of his doctoral students have also...
, and is the author of five books:
- Leading Roles: 50 Questions Every Arts Board Should Ask (October 2010)
- The Art of the Turnaround: Creating and Maintaining Healthy Arts Organizations (Brandeis University Press, 2008. ISBN 978-1-58465-735-4
- Strategic Planning in the Arts: A Practical Guide (1995)
- Developing Industry Strategies: A Practical Guide of Industry Analysis (1983)
- Understanding the Competition: A Practical Guide of Competitive Analysis (1981)
Personal life
Kaiser has two siblings: Thomas Kaiser is a history professor at the University of ArkansasUniversity of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...
, Little Rock and Susan Kaiser founded a non-profit pre-school named "Bread and Roses". Kaiser donated a kidney to his sister, Susan, in 1988.
External links
- Bruce B. Auster, "Turnaround Artist", profile in US News & World Report, March 2, 2003
- Michael Kaiser, DanceUSA Winter Council 2002 Keynote Address, February 1, 2002, Canadian Embassy, Washington, DC
- http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/17414680.html?dids=17414680:17414680&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Aug+11%2C+1996&author=Sid+Smith%2C+Tribune+Arts+Critic.&pub=Chicago+Tribune+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&edition=&startpage=12&desc=MAKEOVER+ARTISTRY+AMERICAN+BALLET+THEATRE+RECLAIMS+FINANCIAL+FOOTING+THANKS+TO+%60TURNAROUND+KING%27Sid Smith, "Makeover Artistry: American Ballet Theatre Reclaims Financial Footing Thanks to 'Turnaround King' ", Chicago Tribune, August 11, 1996]
- Tim Page, "Michael Kaiser: Impressario of the Year", Musical America musicalamerica.com online, 2007
- Todd Purdom, "An Impresario With a Sideline: Rescuing Troubled Cultural Groups", interview in The New York Times, December 9, 2004
- Michael Kaiser, "Contributing to the Human Spirit: Arts Education and the Creative Economy", 2007 Testimony on Arts Education before the Louisiana Senate and House
- 2008 Kennedy Center August Wilson Festival
- Kaiser describes his work with arts organizations from the Kansas City Ballet, the American Ballet Theatre, and the Market Theatre in South Africa to London's Royal Opera in conversation with WOSU's Christopher Purdy from public radio WOSU.org
- ArtsManager.org
- ArtsinCrisis.org