Apollo Theater appoints new president
Michelle Ebanks, who most recently served as president of Essence Communications, the global media and communications company dedicated to Black women, will become the next president and CEO of the Apollo Theater in Harlem, the organization announced Tuesday.
“I have a deep understanding of the value of cultural institutions and their profound impact on individual lives and society, and the Apollo Theater as one of the nation’s largest cultural institutions,” Ebanks said in an interview Monday.
Ebanks, 61, replaces the theater’s longtime leader Jonelle Procope, who announced last year she planned to step down this summer after nearly 20 years leading the Harlem organization, which she transformed from a struggling nun for-profit organization to become the largest African-American performing arts organization in the country.
The appointment comes at a critical time for the theater, which is finalizing an $80 million fundraising campaign to completely renovate the 109-year-old building, with construction beginning next year and planning the first cultural programs in the new space. for spring 2025. In addition to a new lobby cafe and bar that will be open to the public, plans also include added and upgraded seating, new lighting and audio systems, and updates to the building’s exterior. The main theater will be closed for at least part of the refurbishment, but programming will be presented in the Victoria Theaters and will also continue in the Apollo.
Ebanks, who holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Florida, led Essence Communications for 18 years and helped grow the company into a global franchise that now includes Essence, the black women’s lifestyle magazine; Essence.com; and the Essence Festival, the brand’s annual live music event that draws hundreds of thousands of people to New Orleans each year.
It was her experience with the Essence Festival in particular that was one of the main draws for the Apollo, said Charles E. Phillips, chairman of the theater’s board of directors.
“She understood very well what kind of artistic content people would respond to with the Essence Festival,” he said in a telephone interview Monday. “At the same time, she also has business experience.”
Her focus, she said, will be on continuing and expanding the existing partnerships the Apollo has with young creators and organizations in Harlem and the country.
“I want to reach as many different target groups as possible,” she says. “The impact of art and music on society is immeasurable, and we need as many stories from those emerging artists as possible.”
Ebanks will assume her new position in July.