Dayna Martinez handled the emergency situation calmly, especially as first-year executive director of the 26th Twin Cities Jazz Festival.
Master violinist Regina Carter had to cancel because of a repetitive stress injury just four weeks before the festival, set for June 21-22.
Martinez, a former longtime executive at the Ordway Center for Performing Arts, knew what to do. In a recent interview, she explained her moves as well as other things about the $500,000, free-admission festival featuring more than 80 acts in various venues. Here are excerpts.
Q: How did you deal with the Regina Carter cancellation?
A: It was pretty quick. Regina’s agent let me know so I asked the agent for suggestions she might have on her roster. She came up with Kandace Springs [a singer/pianist]. I heard Kandace did well at the Milwaukee jazz fest and she’s been to the Dakota a few times. I thought about it for a little bit and then I thought Kandace would help with the variety of the lineup this year. The agent contacted me [about Carter] before we went to print on our signage and all that. I hope Regina can heal quickly and I’d love to bring her back next year.
Q: You had a year in which you shadowed founder and executive director Steve Heckler. So how is the job different than what you expected?
A: It’s pretty much how I pictured. No surprises, right? I knew I’d be fundraising but I didn’t know I’d be so worried about it all the time. I didn’t realize I’d meet so many people because of fundraising. I want to start going to other jazz festivals and learn how they do it.
I’ve got a great team that’s been doing the sponsorships for jazz fest for a while. With grants, I’m a lot more directly involved. I kind of like it. It’s a lot of details. And I’m learning more how the Legacy Amendment works and how the legislative session works. We received an appropriation from the state for next year.