Music Center Foundation

Music Center Foundation

Founded in 1973, the Music Center Foundation manages endowments and other assets for The Music Center, the downtown Los Angeles performing arts complex that houses the LA Philharmonic, Center Theatre Group, LA Opera, and LA Master Chorale. The organization traces its roots to a campaign co-led by developer George Konheim and retailing executive Edward Carter, who established a permanent funding vehicle to insulate the resident companies from the volatility of ticket sales and annual giving. The foundation deploys capital through a classic institutional mix: marketable securities, private equity, real estate partnerships, and direct energy and oil-and-gas stakes. Confirmed positions include holdings managed through the LAPA Fund and a series of real estate partnerships with mixed-use exposure. The portfolio encompasses buyout, venture, distressed debt, and special situations strategies, accessed via both direct commitments and fund-of-funds structures. Geographic concentration remains in North America. Steven T. Benson leads the foundation as president and CEO, while Shelby Notkin chairs the board. The investment committee is currently chaired by Kelsey Martin, a managing director at Goldman Sachs, who succeeded Sarah Ketterer. Ketterer's tenure linked the foundation to Causeway Capital Management's network and organizations like Girls Who Invest. The foundation also holds a beneficial interest in a Harris Trust vehicle and maintains a collection of art assets. Unlike performing-arts endowments that outsource all investment decisions to an OCIO, the Music Center Foundation retains an active board-level investment committee with direct ties to institutional asset management — a governance model that embeds practitioner expertise into fiduciary oversight of the cultural institution's permanent capital.