Kevin Kwan Loucks
Named one of Southern California’s most influential people by OC Weekly, Mr. Loucks has led a number of important strategic initiatives that have helped shape the performing arts landscape in the region. As Co-Founder and President of Chamber Music | OC, Mr. Loucks championed classical music in the greater Orange County area through a three-tiered approach of performance, education, and community engagement. Hailed by the LA Times for “keeping classical music going” during the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization’s programs, anchored by its nationally recognized Pre-College Program, reach thousands of Southern California residents annually and have helped cultivate new audiences for classical music through business and community partnerships and support from civic leaders.
Chamber Music | OC was recently named a commissioning partner for the Kronos Quartet’s 50 for the Future project, and will celebrate its 10-year anniversary this season with a concert debut at Walt Disney Concert Hall. In 2020, Mr. Loucks guided the organization’s first capital fundraising campaign to support the acquisition of a state-of-the-art, 4,000-square-foot commercial property. That repurposed space – which includes the 1,200-square-foot Weinstein Performance Space, rehearsal studios, and administrative offices – now serves as headquarters for all of the organization’s operations.
Mr. Loucks previously served as Director of Business Development and Strategic Partnerships at the Philharmonic Society of Orange County where he guided the organization’s various giving programs. A skilled fundraising strategist, his relationship-driven approach helped secure new funding through individual, corporate, and foundation support, as he also led the coordination efforts of two annual Gala events in 2020 and 2021. Prior to his tenure at the Philharmonic Society, Mr. Loucks implemented a broad range of programming designed to encourage inclusive representation and participation of diverse groups. As Director of Innovation and Program Development at the Music Academy of the West, his visionary work establishing the Sing! Program – a free choral music initiative serving hundreds of students from over thirty schools in Santa Barbara County – earned him recognition from the California State Legislature. Utilizing his strong background in entrepreneurship and business development, he also created the Music Academy’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Residential to help artists cultivate formal business skills, while leading the organization’s Alumni Enterprise Award granting program, supporting new ventures in artistic expression, audience development, education and outreach, social justice, and technology.
Mr. Loucks is a Juilliard-trained concert pianist and founding member of Trio Céleste, a chamber music ensemble hailed as “unfailingly stylish” by The Strad. He has performed hundreds of recitals in venues including Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Seoul Arts Center, and Walt Disney Concert Hall, and is regularly featured in masterclasses, residencies, and seminars in the world’s top academic institutions and centers for arts and culture. He recently presented leadership courses at Boston University, The Juilliard School, Texas Christian University, and UCLA, and has worked with individuals, ensembles, and organizations as a strategic consultant, earning his clients media attention from Classic FM, the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and WQXR.
Kevin Kwan Loucks was mentored by Julian Martin at The Juilliard School and earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Stony Brook University where he was Teaching Assistant of the Emerson String Quartet and received the distinguished 40 Under 40 Alumni Award. He holds an Executive MBA from the Argyros School of Business and Economics at Chapman University, and completed his executive education at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Mr. Loucks is currently on the faculty of Chamber Music | OC’s Pre-College Program, where he teaches portfolio development, leadership and strategic management, and entrepreneurship.