Special Announcement from The MusicianShip

Dear all:We, the Board of Directors of The MusicianShip, are writing to announce that Jeffery Tribble, the co-founder and Executive Director of the organization, will be stepping down from his position effective June 30th. Jeff has accepted an offer to become the President and CEO of a very large and well-established music organization, which will be making its own announcement soon. We are proud that the accomplishments of The MusicianShip made Jeff a strong candidate for his new position, and we wish him all the very best. At the same time, we are sad to see him leave. We are deeply grateful for Jeff’s vision and energy.

Without that vision and energy, The MusicianShip would not be what it is today: a vibrant organization that provides free music education and performance opportunities to over a thousand deserving youth here in the District of Columbia, and that also runs the Wammies® – the annual awards that recognize the best of local music of all genres – and the DC Funk Parade – the yearly celebration that draws tens of thousands of people to the U Street neighborhood.While we will miss Jeff’s leadership, we are thankful that Jeff has created an organization that is well-equipped to thrive under a successor.

Jeff shared, “I am most proud of the fact that The MusicianShip is as healthy and as strong as we've ever been. Because of your support over the years, we are poised to hire a new dynamic leader whose vision will carry The MusicianShip beyond our current station.”

The MusicianShip is fortunate to have a talented and dedicated staff who excel at running The MusicianShip, providing its educational services, and producing its signature events. We are equally fortunate to have an active Board of Directors who are deeply committed to the organization’s mission of changing lives through music. And we are delighted to enjoy the generous support of many individuals, corporations, and government agencies that recognize the value of our unique services and activities.

Together, we will continue to pursue our mission and to support the community that we have been serving for twelve years.The Board has appointed Amber Pannocchia, our Director of Youth Programs, as Acting Executive Director, and has also promoted her permanently to the position of Deputy Executive Director. Amber has been running our youth programs superbly for over three years. She has already served as Acting Executive Director once previously, when Jeff was on leave last year, and was outstanding.

We are confident that she will guide The MusicianShip with steady, experienced hands. The Board has also created a Transition Committee to manage the transition to a new Executive Director, and it will soon begin the search for Jeff’s successor. That Committee includes five Board members, and also includes Jessica Teachey, who the Board promoted to Senior Director of Community Engagement. In the meantime, our peerless staff will not miss a beat in starting our renowned summer program for 2021.

We are thrilled that we will again be conducting the Wammies® award show and the DC Funk Parade in person, after two years of virtual events due to Covid. We are committed to keeping channels of communication open, and welcome your correspondence on any topic to our Acting Executive Director, Amber Pannocchia, at amber@themusicianship.org, or to our Board Chair, Robert Brauneis, at bob@themusicianship.org.

With your continued support, we look forward to a bright future.

The MusicianShip Board of Directors

Robert Brauneis, Chair

Chanell Autrey

Temi F. Bennett

Anja Broer

Greg Grainger

Eric Jacobs

Juliana Laing

Adam Levin

Jim Reznikoff

Gary J. Rinkerman