Prof. D. Jeanne Ross
jross@harlemchildrensociety.org
Jeanne Ross has come to Harlem Children Society down a winding path. A native of North Carolina, Jeanne began her career as a pianist, having earned a degree in classical music performance at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Along the way, Jeanne also got caught up in a love of languages, so, after having tackled French, she went for a degree in Russian just for fun.
Subsequent to university, Jeanne began exploring what was to become another of her passions, international travel, during an extended period of time in France. Upon returning to the US, she opened a piano studio in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area. During the years she ran her studio, she produced students who consistently won in competition, while Jeanne continued performing publicly and privately. Eventually, she also took on a French teaching position through a revolutionary magnet school program, and also accepted assignments as a French translator/consecutive interpreter.
After years of teaching piano, Jeanne felt herself needing a change in career. She moved back to her home town of Charlotte, NC, and there began a new chapter in theater. Along with a partner, a professional actor/director from New York, she built a business from the ground up. Jeanne was consumed with writing plays, auditioning and hiring actors, performing in productions as a musician, and managing the business of a for-profit theater until the time that she suggested to her partner that the business should be taken to New York City. And so they made the move in 1995… Once in New York City, Jeanne and her partner had their first production up and running within one month’s time. Though the team worked together for a period of time, they eventually parted ways.
Jeanne then began pursuing a career in music business in New York. She first worked with ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers), where she forged a number of relationships with composers, music publishers, and other industry contacts. Several years later, EMI Music Publishing, one of the world’s preeminent music publishers, wooed her away, and she began a long and successful tenure there, where she remained until downturns in the music industry recently took their toll.
During her years at ASCAP and EMI, Jeanne consistently pursued artistic projects in collaboration with area musicians and artists. She also took on a position teaching English as a second language (ESL) through InLingua Language Center. Following her multi-year tenure there, she volunteered with the IRC (International Rescue Committee) teaching ESL to political refugees. Jeanne was subsequently offered a teaching position at Monroe College in the Bronx, where she continues even now teaching French, geography, and music.
Jeanne also took on another special project during her tenure at EMI: that of Entertainment Coordinator for the annual Harlem Children Society Street Fair. She has continued in this capacity over the years, and as fate has recently had it, she has been provided the opportunity to become more involved. Jeanne is proud to now consider herself fully a part of the HCS family. She is delighted to be a part of an organization that embodies all that is important to her and is dedicated to contributing her artistic, educational, linguistic and business talents to advance the goals of HCS.