Andrew Chou Named to
MAW Board of Directors
For Immediate Release January 13, 2010
Contact:
Tim Dougherty
805.695.7908
Santa Barbara, CA – Andrew Chou, who serves as Santa Barbara president for the global investment and banking services firm Northern Trust Co., has been named to the Board of Directors for the Music Academy of the West.
Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Mr. Chou earned an undergraduate degree in economics at Vassar College, where he was a Ford Scholar, before beginning his career in 1988 at Chemical Banking Corp. in New York, which ultimately became part of the JP Morgan Chase organization. After graduating from the Corporate Finance and Investment Banking Management Program, with specialization in mergers and acquisitions and structured finance, he went on to engineer the buyouts of RJR Nabisco, Kroger Supermarkets, and Ethan Allen Inc. In 1993 he co-originated a $1.2 billion leveraged finance portfolio at Fuji Bank in New York before departing in 1998 to launch an internet startup. The latter venture was sold the following year. Mr. Chou joined Northern Trust in 2000 and today oversees all aspects of the company's integrated investment management, corporate fiduciary, and private banking business in Santa Barbara and serves on Northern's management committee for the Western United States.
A board director for both Lotusland and United Cerebral Palsy, Mr. Chou is a member of the Santa Barbara Investment Forum and Mensa.
"I've long admired the Music Academy of the West and valued its unique role in the community," said Mr. Chou. "I view this appointment as a welcome opportunity to contribute to an organization that adds significantly to our local cultural fabric and to the broader cause of fostering exceptional classical music."
Founded in 1947, the Music Academy of the West is among the nation's preeminent summer schools and festivals for gifted young classical musicians. The Academy provides these promising musicians with the opportunity for advanced study and frequent performance under the guidance of internationally renowned faculty artists, guest conductors, and soloists. Admission to the Academy is strictly merit based, and Fellows receive full scholarships (tuition, room, and board). Academy alumni are members of major symphony orchestras, chamber orchestras, ensembles, opera companies, and university and conservatory faculties throughout the world. Many enjoy careers as prominent solo artists. In 2009 the Music Academy partnered with the Granada Music & Arts Conservatory to launch Santa Barbara Strings, an innovative educational program designed to train and nurture local classical string musicians ages 4 to 18. Based in Santa Barbara, the Music Academy of the West presents more than 200 public events annually, including performances by faculty, visiting artists, and Fellows; masterclasses; orchestra and chamber music concerts; and fully staged opera. The Music Academy began screening live performances by the world-renowned Metropolitan Opera at Hahn Hall in October 2008. For more information, visit www.musicacademy.org.
