Bryan Zellmer has more than 20 years of experience in the arts. He began as a performer and then held various management, production and marketing roles before joining KU Presents!, a program that brings world-class performing arts to Kutztown University and the surrounding community.
You’ve performed at prestigious venues across the country and won numerous awards. Why did you take this role with the KU Presents! program? Prior to working with KU Presents!, I was working with an arts program at a college in New Jersey. When the program closed, I took an arts job in Colorado, but my family stayed here. I was commuting back and forth to see them. When the KU Presents! opportunity opened up, I knew it was a perfect fit because I would be home with my family, and I would be working with a college arts program. I missed working with students and seeing the spark when they get to do what they love and perform.
KU Presents! celebrated its 30th anniversary shortly after you came on board. How did you contribute to that celebration? As part of the celebration, I wanted to honor the program’s strength, history and subscriber base. I did this through the creation of a documentary about the program. I learned so much about KU Presents! when creating that documentary, and the process strengthened my bond with the program and the community.
Can you tell me about the Kutztown University Arts Society and the P.L.A.Y. initiative? At the time of the 30th anniversary celebration, we formed Kutztown University Arts Society, a group of on- and off-campus community members to foster the arts at the University. This included KU Presents! The Society’s “Promoting the Love of Arts in Youth” (P.L.A.Y.) initiative allows KU Presents! to bring local students to campus for performances. We hope to continue with this initiative after the pandemic.
How did KU Presents! navigate the COVID-19 pandemic and its return to live performances? We shut down live performances from March 2020 through summer 2021 and shifted gears to focus on our music majors. These students have to perform for an audience as part of their course requirements, so we live streamed their solo performances. This allowed a worldwide audience to watch them perform. In the spring 2021 semester, I also hosted a weekly talk show with arts colleagues so our community could engage with these professionals. In fall 2021, we moved back to live performances with fewer, smaller scale events.
KU Presents! keeps you busy, but how do you relax when you have free time? My wife is in the arts, and my four children are involved in the arts in school. We’re very busy, but our downtimes align well. We enjoy family time doing things like traveling, playing video games and hiking.
