Quick Q &A With Neale Perl, Scottsdale Arts CEO

By Mike Saucier

Neale Perl is president and CEO of Scottsdale Arts, which manages three of the city’s cultural assets: Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art and Scottsdale Public Art. He took over as CEO exactly three years ago this month. Perl has more than 25 years of experience in arts administration and presentation. He’s also an accomplished musician, having earned his bachelor of music in cello performance from The Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University and his Master of Music from Temple University. Frontdoors caught up with him recently to ask how things are going in the Scottsdale arts world.

FRONTDOORS: You’ve been the CEO for Scottsdale Arts for three years now. How are you liking the Valley so far, what has surprised you in this role and what has surprised you about the arts scene in the Valley?

PERL: My wife and I love living here. We have some family members who used to live here in Phoenix before we were married and I remember visiting them and saying, ‘Oh, this would be a nice place to move to someday.’ So it worked out.

I guess if I had name one thing that has surprised me about my role, it is the incredible variety of what Scottsdale Arts has to offer the community.  We have Broadway, jazz, classical, dance, world music, film, and amazing festivals.  With some 1,000 events a year in Scottsdale and Phoenix, we attract over 400,000 people.  It is almost impossible for one person to know everything we do. So it’s a very exciting and demanding job and I love every minute of it.

What surprised me about the Valley is the richness of the arts scene in Scottsdale and the Valley.  Everything you could want is here – and it is close by.  On our Scottsdale Campus we have the best of the performing and visual arts – and then there is the Museum of the West around the corner from us, the art galleries around the corner, the Artist School as well, Phoenix Art Museum, the Heard, Mesa, the MIM, Taliesin, the theatre companies, I’m probably only scratching the surface here — the list is almost endless of things to do in the arts.

FRONTDOORS: SMoCA and the Performing Arts Center have some exciting shows and exhibits coming up this fall. What are you looking forward to in particular? What has the process been like in terms of curating acts and exhibits — does it get easier due to a boost in reputation for both institutions?

PERL: Of course, as our reputation for excellence continues to grow, it makes bringing big name artists and musicians easier.  In addition, my staff is very well connected in the art and music world, so we leverage those friendships to benefit the community.  That is how we got Yo-Yo Ma here.

I am looking forward to everything.  If I had to choose, I love our new Broadway Series with Seth Rudetsky at the Center (Megan Hilty, Kelli O’Hara) — so I’m really looking forward to that. We’re doing Parsons Dance Company, so that’s a big event for us. We’re doing the Moscow State Symphony — and to do a 100-member orchestra in a hall that’s less than a thousand seats is really an exciting opportunity to see a huge international orchestra up close and personal.  Then we’re also launching another new series at the Center, with Rob Kapilow and it’s all about the American Songbook.

And at SMoCA we have the new new Soleri Exhibition — it has been in the making for years — and, as you know, our Public Art division was responsible for building the Soleri Bridge.  The only one of its kind in the world! I heard that he designed hundreds of bridges and this was the only one to be built.

In Public Art, I look forward to inviting friends from around the country to see Canal Convergence at the Waterfront in Scottsdale.  They’re amazed by the beauty of the event — a festival of light, art and water — and they love coming to Scottsdale. Everyone’s heard of Scottsdale but some people haven’t made it here yet. They’ve been to Santa Fe, Grand Canyon but they just haven’t been here. But with a personal invitation from a friend they come here and stay at one of the beautiful resorts, and they go, ‘Wow, we’re going to come back!’

I go to almost all the events and sometimes it’s just a personal discovery. We had (blues musician) Taj Mahal. I went and it was such a rocking show. On a personal level, it’s rewarding to see the work that my colleagues do, bringing these artists here.

Is our growing reputation helping? Absolutely.

FRONTDOORS: What are some of your favorite arts destinations in the Valley?

PERL: Obviously, in high season, I am out 4-5 nights a week just attending our own events — which doesn’t allow for a lot of free time.  Still, I enjoy attending the Symphony, the Ballet, the Opera, the theatre companies, Phoenix Art Museum and the MIM. Whether its taking visitors or going with my wife, there’s just so much here.