Sean Patrick Flahaven Announced as Special Guest at BC's Annual Arts Festival

Grammy and Tony Award Winning Music and Theater Producer Sean Patrick Flahaven, a 1995 Boston College alumnus, will return to his alma mater this week as the special guest and alumni honoree at Boston College's 23rd annual Arts Festival. Flahaven will participate in special Arts Festival programming and receive an alumni arts achievement award.

The theme of the vibrant, three-day event-held Thursday, April 29 through Saturday, May 1, 2021-is "A New Wave of Creativity." It will comprise a mix of some 40 in-person events, and more than 30 online and recorded presentations.

"We all need a lift for our pandemic-weary lives, so get ready: the BC Arts Festival is alive and well with a fresh new look," said BC Associate Professor of Theatre Crystal Tiala, chair of the Boston College Arts Council, which organizes the festival. "There will be plenty of opportunities to safely experience art in person. There will also be opportunities to see creative work and performance streaming online. This will be nourishment for our souls."

Sean Patrick Flahaven is a Grammy and Tony Award winning music and theater producer, writer, composer, orchestrator, and conductor. He is chief theatricals executive of Concord Theatricals, the fifth-largest music company in the world, which provides comprehensive services to creators and producers of plays and musicals. Concord-which represents more than 10,000 plays and musicals, and many iconic and contemporary songwriters and recordings-develops and produces shows for Broadway, West End, and internationally; it won its first Tony Award in 2019 as co-producer of Best Musical "Hadestown."

Prior to his current position, Flahaven was founding worldwide chief executive officer of The Musical Company; from 2008-2016, he was senior vice president of Theatre & Catalog Development for Warner Chappell Music. He has worked with Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim for 25 years, and been a producer on more than 30 albums, 12 of which were nominated for Grammys-including the Grammy-winning, 7x Platinum, chart-topping hit "Hamilton." Flahaven has produced or managed more than 100 shows, concerts, workshops, and readings on- and off-Broadway, and was general manager and director of Music and Marketing for Theatrical Rights Worldwide, and a music editor for Music Theatre International and the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization.

A playwright, composer, and arranger, his work has been performed across the US and at Dublin's Abbey Theatre. An arts journalist and editor for 13 years, his articles have run in Playbill, The Sondheim Review and Show Music. And adjunct faculty member at the NYU-Tisch Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program for 20 years, he serves on numerous boards and has won prominent professional awards. At BC, he was a member of the University's Gabelli Presidential Scholars Program, and earned a bachelor's degree in music and English from Boston College. He went on to earn an M.F.A. in Musical Theatre Writing from NYU Tisch School of the Arts; and an M.F.A. in Performing Arts Management from Brooklyn College.

At BC's Arts Festival, Flahaven will participate in a career-related interview program titled "Inside the BC Studio," at which he will be interviewed by BC Theatre Department Chair and Associate Professor of the Practice Luke Jorgensen. He will receive the Boston College Arts Council Alumni Award for Distinguished Achievement, presented by BC Associate Professor of Music Jeremiah McGrann, at an awards reception. Awards also will be presented to a BC faculty member and to undergraduates, to recognize their artistic accomplishments and contributions. BC Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley will deliver the University address at the awards program.

The popular event brings the Boston College community together to celebrate the arts: It showcases creative achievements and highlights the arts on campus-including music, theater, dance, poetry, film, painting, and sculpture-and the work of students, faculty, and others. More than 600 members of the University community-including approximately 28 student groups, 19 faculty-led groups, and 16 individual groups-will participate in the festival.

Of this year's festival theme, organizers said: "Now, more than ever, we are turning to imagination to re-envision our lives onto new formats. Creativity becomes a reflection point where discomfort meets beauty, change meets growth, tradition meets innovation, and classic meets digital. This year we invite you to experience the talents of faculty, staff, alumni and student artists across Boston College in a new dimension, through combined traditional and online programming. Join us as we energize The Heights in a new wave of creativity."

In-person events are open only to BC community members, with pandemic protocols in place to ensure the safety of festival participants, staff and attendees The public is invited to attend online events, which include music video releases, a cappella podcasts, Music Ensemble livestream concerts, Zoom literary readings and artist talks, virtual art galleries and McMullen Museum of Art tours, and virtual children's activities. View the schedule for information about events, registration for online and other programming, and more details: www.bostoncollegeartsfestival.com.