After three roles within the Williams Center for the Arts were left vacant at the end of the last academic year, the Lafayette community welcomed three new staff members with plans to further build upon the existing program.
Ty Furman, Tabitha Klaus and Marta Kepka will soon become familiar faces to students involved in the arts on campus. According to Furman, the new director of the performance series, one of the team’s main priorities will be increasing diversity and adding depth to the lineup of performances.
“There’s a lot about this program that is outstanding, and there’s a foundation that we don’t want to mess with,” Furman said. “[I want] to continue to find really diverse acts and find artists who sort of look like our population.”
Prior to joining Lafayette, Furman held major roles at the University of Pennsylvania and Boston University, advising student performance groups and creating initiatives to expand student opportunity within the arts. Furman will also be overseeing the Lafayette Arts Society.
Klaus, the director of operations and patron services, is another new addition to the Lafayette arts community. With an abundance of experience in classical music and administration – working for the Chicago Symphony, Baltimore Symphony and New Jersey symphony before her introduction to higher education at Carnegie Mellon University – Klaus is excited to bring her unique skill set to the program.
“Because I did have such a focused career path, specifically in classical music and working with orchestras, it’s interesting now to have the opportunity to work with arts across all mediums,” Klaus said.
For both Furman and Klaus, holding a position at Lafayette signifies a return home.
“Just coming back to this area, it is so special and part of who we were growing up,” Klaus said. “I think it’s just relearning it too … getting to know Easton better and Bethlehem and all the surrounding areas. It’s very exciting.”
Stepping into her role as director of art marketing, Kepka is looking forward to joining her colleagues in their plans to develop a robust program rich with a variety of perspectives.
“When I saw that Lafayette had this position open, and it was a liberal arts college which also plays into the idea of kind of collaborative work and cross-disciplinary work … It kind of just spoke to my brain,” Kepka said. “It felt like home before I was here.”
Kepka has a long history working within the artistic field, holding positions in graphic design, digital marketing and creative directorship. She is currently an adjunct professor at Middlesex Community College, teaching advertising and design as well as production.
When not preparing for shows, this trio can be found sharing about their pets and other niche interests. Dogs, specifically, seem to be the most common point of conversation.
“We are dog people,” Furman said. “We talk about our dogs all the time.”
This year, students and faculty can expect to see a number of new performances take the stage. According to Furman, there is talk of introducing more family programming – shows catered to children and families within the Easton community. Festivals are in the works as well, with the team hoping for support from the student population.
“Come to something you know you’ll like, because I bet we have something, and come to something you’ve never seen before,” Furman said. “Just take a risk. It’s ninety minutes of your time to experiment.”
