When Michael Brand began playing trumpet, he never thought he would end up as the executive director of the Wharton Center for Performing Arts.
Brand began his career with a 22-year stint as a trumpet player for various nationally known symphonies such as the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and the Minnesota Opera. When a brand new performing arts center was built in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, Brand fell in love with the building. Shortly after taking an internship position, he became a vice president.
Brand’s day to day as the executive director always changes and is never boring. His day begins with breakfast with community leaders, donors or sometimes an artist. Sometimes, the day can be chaotic; an artist cancels or a show can’t get there. Sometimes, the days are less chaotic, but just as busy. He checks in on Wharton’s daily ticket sales and frequently meets with senior staff members in committee meetings. Brand is also a frequent traveler. He is in New York about once a month and travels around the country and sometimes Canada checking out different shows that could come to the Wharton. He tries to open as many shows at the center as he can, sometimes leaving at intermission.
Brand’s commitments outside of Wharton also take up quite a bit of time. He is part of the Broadway League, which is the national trade organization for Broadway plays. He is a Country Music Association voter, meaning he has to listen to all the different country music albums that are produced in order to be educated in his voting. He also is a Tony voter, which means he has to go to each play that is nominated, again, so he is an educated voter.
The busy schedule may seem too demanding for some, but Brand enjoys it.
“It’s never dull,” he said. “It’s never predictable. You get up and think you’re going to have a specific day, but then an emergency or trauma occurs and everything changes. In this business anything can happen. New opportunities come up and you put the breaks on all kinds of different things and evaluate whether you’re going to this added concert or play. It’s never the same and it’s definitely not predictable.”