Fred Bronstein

Fred Bronstein

Dean
Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University

An accomplished pianist, music educator and chief executive of symphony orchestras, Fred Bronstein has been the dean of the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, a private conservatory and preparatory school, since June of 2014.

He began the Peabody Conservatory Post-COVID Think Tank in 2020, which examined questions about the performing arts and training artists in a post-COVID environment.

Outside of his wife and 14-year-old son, Bronstein says he is most proud of the people he hired to help guide the future of an institution with the rich and deep tradition of Peabody Institute.

“To be able to take this cultural icon and build on its history by challenging ourselves and our institution to think anew about how to train more diverse, flexible and adaptable artists for an evolving landscape requires a dedicated, creative and bold group of people willing to try, to even fail from time to time, but who are committed to building an institution whose best days are always ahead.”

He sees his greatest challenge, as it was for so many heading organizations was, “Running a conservatory during a pandemic. Of course, COVID-19 and its associated restrictions were challenging to everyone. But this education model is built on a very tactile, one-to-one teaching style alongside performance for live audiences – neither of which was possible when everything was shut down.

“I’m so proud of our community at Peabody for the perseverance, innovation and dedication to the art form that has seen us through to a point where Peabody is as strong as it has ever been, as showcased by the school’s 24% growth in enrollment over the past five years.”