KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Aaron Greenwald has been named as managing director of the Big Ears Festival with less than two months to the music event’s start.

Greenwald, an arts programmer and administrator, will work with festival founder, artistic and executive director Ashley Capps on all aspects of Big Ears. The festival said in a release that Greenwald will be charged with the evolution and growth of the festival over the next 3 to 5 years.

“We are delighted to have Aaron join the staff at Big Ears,” Capps said. “I’m thrilled to have him as a collaborator as we build on Big Ears’ tremendous success and envision a festival that has bigger impact and strives to do more good.”

MORE ONLINE | John Paul Jones, Thundercat, Kim Gordon headline first round of Big Ears 2020 artists

MORE ONLINE | Rock icon Patti Smith headlines new additions to Knoxville’s Big Ears Festival 2020

Prior to joining Big Ears, Greenwald spent a dozen years as the executive director of Duke Performances, the professional performing arts presenter at Duke University. While at Duke Performances, Greenwald was responsible for all aspects of the organization and oversaw its growth from a small regional presenter to a world-class program involved in commissioning, producing, and showcasing upwards of 100 presentations per season.

Greenwald began his professional career in Tennessee, production managing and producing country music videos in Nashville in the late-90s. He also had stops in New York and Pennsylvania.

“I’m enormously pleased to be joining Big Ears and relocating to Knoxville,” Greenwald said. “Ashley Capps has built one of the most important music festivals in the country, an event lauded by music fans and musicians alike.

“As it moves into its second decade, Big Ears is poised to become a world-class platform for forward-thinking art of all variety — it’ll be my job to make certain the festival grows effectively while deepening its engagement with artists, audiences, and the city.”

During Greenwald’s tenure at Duke, fostered a three-year partnership between American Ballet Theatre and Duke. In addition, Greenwald commissioned, produced, and premiered work by Pam Tanowitz, Steve Reich, Jason Moran and Meredith Monk, among others.

The Big Ears Festival will be March 26-29. Single-day and weekend passes are on sale now.

For information and ticketing, go to bigearsfestival.org.