Two New Artistic Leaders at Music Academy of the West

The Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California, has appointed Conor Hanick as creative and artistic advisor, and Indigo Fischer as vice president of artistic planning. They will provide high-level artistic strategy and day-to-day artistic leadership for the Summer Music Festival and School and the organization’s year-round programs.

Head of Solo Piano at the Music Academy of the West since 2019, Conor Hanick is also a member of the American Modern Opera Company and a faculty member at the CUNY Graduate Center, Mannes College, and the Juilliard School. As the Music Academy’s creative and artistic advisor, he will focus on connecting a creative and artistic through-line across the Academy’s Summer Music Festival and School and year-round activity, while helping design initiatives for the Academy’s coming 80th anniversary. He will also provide expertise related to the artistic and programmatic identity and vision for the Academy’s planned downtown Music Education Center.

Indigo Fischer, who has been a member of the Music Academy of the West team since 2021, will serve as vice president of artistic planning, helping to guide the artistic programming of the Summer Music Festival and School as well as year-round engagement. Having worked in key roles within the organization’s artistic department, she brings institutional knowledge, a collaborative approach, and a long-range perspective. Fischer will work across the organization to help shape experiences that are distinctive, mission-aligned, and meaningful for artists and audiences alike. An award-winning flutist, her background includes performance degrees from the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Texas at Austin.