New President and Directors appointed to the American Society of the Royal Academy of Music
Anjuli Rao
News Story
A new President and two Directors have been elected to the American Society of the Royal Academy of Music (ASRAM), an independent US 501(c)(3) charitable organisation that engages supporters in the United States to help advance the Academy’s charitable work.
Previous philanthropic donations received by ASRAM have enabled American students to attend the Academy, advanced our outreach work in the United States and underpinned collaborations with The Juilliard School as well as other leading US cultural and educational organisations.
Newly elected President Anjuli Rao has a distinguished background in investment banking, project finance and philanthropy. After graduating from London Business School in 1999, she joined Citigroup in London where she spent over a decade advising companies in the telecoms, media and tech sector.
Anjuli is deeply committed to education as a core component of her philanthropic efforts and serving those from underrepresented backgrounds, and has established two Rao Family Scholarships for outstanding postgraduate students at the Academy commencing in September.
It is a privilege to serve as President of the American Society of the Royal Academy of Music. The Academy has a proud tradition of nurturing extraordinary musical talent. Supporting gifted young musicians and helping to widen access to outstanding musical education are causes that are deeply important to me, and I am honoured to play a part in advancing the Academy’s exceptional mission.
The two new directors are both Academy alumni. Mezzo Soprano Katherine Jenkins OBE has enjoyed a phenomenally successful career as a presenter, performer and recording artist. She made history in 2004 when her debut album became the fastest-selling classical album of all time by a UK artist and she went on to become the first classical artist to achieve thirteen number one albums.
Pianist Inon Barnatan appears regularly with the world’s foremost orchestras and conductors. He was the inaugural Artist-in-Association of the New York Philharmonic from 2014–17 and has performed with the Boston, Chicago and Cleveland symphonies, the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, the BBC Symphony at the Proms and most major US orchestras.
Anjuli, Katherine and Inon join current Directors Jeffrey Wehner, Michael Gilsenan, Christine Stonbely and Alexa Suskin and we thank them for their commitment, expertise and generosity as they begin their term of service.
We also extend our sincere thanks to the outgoing Board members for their dedication and contributions to ASRAM.