Music Department Faculty

Emil Kang
Professor of the Practice

Office: Carr Building, 208 E. Cameron Ave.
Email: emil_kang@unc.edu
Phone: 919-843-7775

Emil Kang arrived in January 2005 as the University of North Carolina’s first Executive Director for the Arts, a senior administrative post created to help unify and elevate the performing arts at the University. In his first season, Kang introduced the University’s first major performing arts series, inaugurated in conjunction with the grand re-opening of the University’s main venue, Memorial Hall. After only three years, the University was invited to join the national consortium of Major University Presenters.

Kang also recently joined the music faculty as Professor of the Practice of Music. Kang co-teaches courses in artistic entrepreneurship and the creative process. Prior to coming to Chapel Hill, Kang served as President and Executive Director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) where he spearheaded a $125 million capital and endowment campaign, the largest in the Orchestra’s history. Kang has also held positions of Vice President of Operations for the DSO, Orchestra Manager for the Seattle Symphony, and Orchestra Management Fellow with the American Symphony Orchestra League (ASOL). As an Orchestra Management Fellow, Kang worked with symphony orchestras in San Francisco, Houston, and Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Kang is a frequent speaker and has led numerous local, state and national outreach efforts. Kang has also chaired panels for the National Endowment for the Arts, the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Full Frame International Documentary Film Festival, and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, among others. Kang was the youngest and first Asian-American to serve as president of a major symphony orchestra. Kang has been selected by The News & Observer (NC) as a “Tar Heel of the Week” and by Crain’s Detroit Business “40 under 40.” He is a graduate of Leadership Detroit, and has served on national boards including Henry Ford Hospital and United Neighborhood Centers of America. Kang has also been a member of Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) and completed the Strategic Perspectives in Non-Profit Management program at Harvard Business School. Born in New York City, and trained in violin studies from a young age, he holds a degree in Economics from the University of Rochester in New York.