Vilar Performing Arts Center names Cameron Morgan as new executive director
Owen Hutchinson, the former director, will step into a new role for the venue
Courtesy Photo
On Thursday, Sept. 28, the Vail Valley Foundation announced that Cameron Morgan will serve as the new executive director for the Vilar Performing Arts Center in Beaver Creek.
Owen Hutchinson has held the executive director position at the 535-seat theater since January 2021. Hutchinson recently got married and stepped away from the role to be with his wife in New Jersey. However, he will remain active with the VPAC in his new role as artistic director.
“It is an honor to pass the executive leadership of the Vilar Performing Arts Center to Cameron, a proven arts administrator with incredible commitment to our community,” Hutchinson said. “He has greatly elevated the operations of the Vail Dance Festival over his many years of involvement and brings unique vision to his new position. In my new role as VPAC’s new artistic director, I am thrilled to explore ambitious artistic endeavors that bring astounding artists to our mountain stage, continuing VPAC’s commitment to programmatic excellence.”
Morgan steps into the role after many years of experience with the Vail Valley Foundation and its venues, Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater and Vilar Performing Arts Center. He first started with the foundation as an intern for the Vail Dance Festival in 2015 and joined full-time in January 2021 as festival manager for the Vail Dance Festival. He has also contributed to Vail Valley Foundation operations teams on projects like the GoPro Mountain Games and the Xfinity Birds of Prey ski races.
“I’m honored to take on this position and continue the momentum that Owen and the team, our patrons and supporters, have built throughout the 25th Anniversary season and beyond,” Morgan said. “What excites me about the VPAC is the experience people have when they come there, the feeling they have when they walk through these doors, whether they’re sitting up in the balcony or dancing in the pit. That experience is so special and I’m looking forward to helping create that magic, that moment that only the performing arts can create.”
Support Local Journalism
Morgan grew up on his family’s beef cattle and chicken farm in South Alabama. He began his on-stage career performing in musical theater productions when he was 7 and booked his first paid gig at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival when he was 12. He also began taking dance classes when he was 12, and his passion for dance and live performing arts took him to college at the University of Oklahoma, where he earned dual degrees in Ballet Performance and Public Relations.
After college, Morgan performed for two seasons in Rhode Island at Festival Ballet Providence (now Ballet RI) and he has completed three professional contracts as a performer onboard cruise ships. As an artist and performer, Cameron has a proficient understanding of the intricacies of performing arts venues, and the complexities of live performance production.
“Cameron has been an incredible addition to our Vail Valley Foundation team since 2015. He is an artist and performer himself with great event production and operational skills as well as business acumen. Internal succession is always our priority, and Cameron checks all the boxes for a solid transition to this new leadership position. We are looking forward to having his expertise and enthusiasm for the arts help carry the VPAC into its next chapter,” said Mike Imhof, President of the Vail Valley Foundation.
“Also, we could not be more pleased that Owen Hutchinson is staying us with us as our Artistic Director where he will continue to lead and develop VPAC’s artistic programming vision,” Imhof added.
Visit Vilarpac.org to see the current lineup for the the Vilar Performing Arts Center.
