​The FRK Foundation (Frederick R. Koch Foundation) is pleased to announce Kristen Linfante as its Director of Development, Programs and Partnerships.  

 

With the passion and global skill sets of both an administrator and professional musician, Linfante joins The FRK Foundation with over thirty years of non-profit experience in the arts, as the former General Manager and Director of Artistic Operations and Touring for GRAMMY award-winning Apollo’s Fire Baroque Orchestra, as Executive and Artistic Director of Chamber Music Pittsburgh, and most recently as Executive Director of The Knights ensemble in NYC. Alongside her long-standing work as a non-profit arts leader, Linfante holds a unique and valuable perspective as a Juilliard-trained musician, having performed with ensembles including Apollo’s Fire Baroque Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony and others.

 

Linfante says, “I have had the pleasure of collaborating with the FRK Foundation on several artistic projects in the past, and I am delighted to join them in this capacity.  My appointment coincides with a momentous new chapter for the FRK Foundation with the development of expansive programs and initiatives that will support emerging scholars, performers and other creative artists. At the same time, I look forward to forging partnerships and collaborations with others that share in the Foundation’s commitment to supporting the study and appreciation of artistic disciplines. I am honored to celebrate and uphold Mr. Koch's remarkable legacy through this work.”

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ABOUT KRISTEN LINFANTE
 

Equally at home as an arts leader and performing musician, Kristen Linfante served as Executive Director of The Knights ensemble in NYC in 2024, and Executive Director and Artistic Director of Chamber Music Pittsburgh, an internationally recognized presenter of chamber music, from 2014 through 2023.  During her time at Chamber Music Pittsburgh, she effectively grew the organization’s budget by over 80%, increased and diversified programming and educational initiatives, vastly increased ticket sales and fundraising, and forged strong community ties built on diverse programming of the highest level. Prior to joining Chamber Music Pittsburgh, Ms. Linfante served as both General Manager and Director of Artistic Operations and Touring for Apollo’s Fire Baroque Orchestra. Early in her musical career, she also served in an administrative capacity for artist management firms including Dispeker Artists, Inc., and Schmidt Artists International, Inc.  While residing in the Pittsburgh (PA) region, Ms. Linfante further developed her global leadership skills by serving as an elected official - Commissioner (Third Ward- Mt Lebanon/Pittsburgh). During her tenure, Ms. Linfante was promoted to the highest rank of Commission President.

 

Kristen holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Juilliard School where she began her studies at the age of 14. She specializes in both modern and baroque viola and has been a member of the GRAMMY Award-winning Baroque ensemble, Apollo’s Fire, since 2005. Kristen has also served as a member of the Orchestra de Catania in Catania, Sicily, and has performed frequently with the Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Opera, and Ballet, Houston Symphony, and Minnesota Orchestra.  Ms. Linfante has also performed at the Grand Teton Music Festival, a globally renowned orchestral and chamber music festival in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, for the past 29 seasons.

 

In 2023, Ms. Linfante was one of eight executive directors chosen by the Richard King Mellon and McCune Foundations to receive a 3-month, $75,000 sabbatical in recognition of her tireless work in the field of non-profit arts administration.

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10 March 2025

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