Robert Falk, M. D., Chairman, announced that Thomas C. LeCrone has agreed to serve as the Acting President of the Pennsylvania Academy of music for a period of at least ninety-days.

According to Falk, “He comes to us at a critical time in our history when decisive leadership is needed.”

LeCrone was a County appointee to the Lancaster Convention Center Authority in 2007 and played an instrumental role in a complex and successful negotiation involving an aspect of the County’s guarantee of convention center bonds.

Google.com lists him as President of LeCrone Management Group and Project Director of the PA Electric “E” Project.

The news release states that LeCrone has run a number of businesses and has successfully directed the turnaround of an area nonprofit, which was not identified.

Per Falk, “He clearly recognizes the need for the Pennsylvania Academy of Music (PAM) to quickly cut expenses, expand its programs to better meet the community’s need of early childhood through senior citizen music education as well to provide a venue for a broad range of musical performances that open PAM to larger more diverse audiences.”

According to LeCrone, “PAM is Lancaster’s ‘Music Connection’ and we will have new innovative programs and exciting new performances and events to announce by the end of this month.  Come to PAM on February’s ‘First Friday’, February 5^th, and be part of the new PAM energy.”

It is common for artistic institutions to have both a business leader and an artistic leader. Presumably LeCrone’s partner at the Academy is Michael T. Jamanis, recently appointed Faculty Dean who is both an instructor and who performs internationally as a member of the Newstead Trio.

The third key figure in PAM management is Arthur Mann, Sr., who as Chair of the Business Committee and as a prominent business and civic leader (CEO of Donsco, Inc., past board president of the School District of Lancaster and co-founder of the Hourglass Foundation) is the point person for the Board of Trustees.

Fran Veri , PAM co-founder and partner in the piano duo team of Veri and Jamanis, continues in the key role of planning, which includes pursuit of further accreditation of the school and furthering of vital relationships for the future with institutions local, national, and international.

Business Committee Advisor (and NewsLanc publisher) Robert Field commented “PAM has long suffered from a lack of business competence. If strong business leadership can be combined with the existing artistic leadership, PAM should be able to achieve and even exceed what is expected by its participants, backers, and the community. Ninety-days should tell the story. In fact, a lot will be known in ten days.”