HUNTINGDON, Tenn. — The Dixie will soon be under new direction after Huntingdon’s Council voted unanimously Tuesday evening to appoint Kimberly Kraft McLemore, currently the Vice President of Education and Community Engagement at the Nashville Symphony, as the new executive director of The Dixie Carter Performing Arts Center.
The appointment caps a search that drew 16 applicants and involved a 10-person interview panel.
Mayor Chad Edwards told the council he was confident in the selection.
“It’s a big deal to win somebody like that,” Edwards said.
Kraft McLemore has spent multiple seasons with the Nashville Symphony, where she oversaw the orchestra’s education programming and community partnerships.
She holds a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Tennessee at Martin and a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Penn State.
Before joining the Symphony, Kraft McLemore taught high school choral and theater arts in Metro Nashville Public Schools and served on the Fine Arts Standards Writing Committee for the Tennessee Board of Education.
Edwards said Kraft McLemore would visit Huntingdon on Thursday, February 24.