With growing ‘buzz,’ Academy of Music starts search for new leader

NORTHAMPTON – The Academy of Music has begun looking for a new executive director following Debra J'Anthony's retirement announcement in December.

A transition is on tap as J'Anthony ends nearly 19 years as executive director and the historic hall continues to attract shows and performers.

"I think there is just a little bit more of a buzz," she said Wednesday. "We are here in Western Massachusetts."

The Academy of Music hosted 60 performances from July to December in 2025. J'Anthony said plans are to present 73 performances, or maybe more, from January through June.

The 805-seat theater draws 60,000 attendees a year, she said. It pulls 28% of its audience from at least 75 miles away. Those patrons are believed to be more likely to spend money on hotels and restaurants. People living in Brooklyn, New York, make up about 5% of the crowd.

"We have been slowly building our numbers back since COVID," she said. "As well as our youth programs."

Historically, the academy presented one youth musical a year with cast members aged 6 to 18. Last year, the academy double-cast its youth musical and this year its second production, "Legally Blonde," with teenagers.

The younger performers will stage "My Friend Pinocchio" in the fall, J'Anthony said.

Promoter DSP Shows added a second performance next month for Chris Fleming , a comedian, actor and YouTube personality. Fleming, who's appeared on the show "Abbot Elementary," sold out the first show in minutes.

Meantime, near the other end of downtown, the Calvin Theater owned by Eric Suher is still dark. The loss of Northampton's other large theater hurts, rather than helps, the Academy, J'Anthony said. More shows downtown attract more concert fans and theatergoers for all the venues, she said.

The academy's Board of Trustees is asking for applications by Feb. 27 with hopes of narrowing down the list of hopefuls in April and hiring a new executive director to start July 1.

The starting salary is listed as $120,000 a year.

The Academy of Music is owned by the city of Northampton but run by a Board of Trustees.

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