“Artists Are Athletes/Athletes Are Artists” Collection Options Levy

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Carolina Performing Arts, the performing arts presenter on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has launched the third chapter of its ongoing storytelling collection Artists Are Athletes / Athletes Are Artists™, persevering with its exploration of the shared qualities that outline excellence throughout disciplines. 

Titled Conductors and Coaches, the brand new video brings collectively two visionary leaders: Yannick Nézet-Séguin, music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Metropolitan Opera, and the Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal, and Jenny Levy, head coach of UNC Women’s Lacrosse and four-time NCAA nationwide champion. The video illuminates the symmetry of elite management, revealing how focus, collaboration, resilience, and imaginative and prescient remodel particular person expertise into one thing better than the sum of its components. 

“Yannick and Jenny are both extraordinary at what they do. Each of them understands how to shape a culture, how to bring individual talent into alignment, and how to create the conditions for collective excellence,” says Alison Friedman, the James and Susan Moeser Executive and Artistic Director of CPA. “At Carolina, where the arts and athletics coexist at the highest level, it felt natural to bring those two worlds into conversation through leaders who embody that standard.” 

Leadership Across Music and Sport

Since its launch in 2023, Artists Are Athletes / Athletes Are Artists™ has paired world-class artists and elite student-athletes to light up the grit, focus, and creativity that outline excellence throughout disciplines. The collection debuted with UNC Men’s Basketball and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, adopted by a collaboration between UNC Women’s Soccer and faucet dance firm Dorrance Dance.  

For the following chapter, Friedman got down to discover one other highly effective throughline connecting the humanities and athletics: management. To deliver that concept to life, she introduced collectively two figures whose impression extends far past their respective arenas—Nézet-Séguin, one of many world’s most dynamic conductors and a longtime CPA collaborator, and Levy, some of the achieved coaches in collegiate athletics.  

“At Carolina, the culture we’ve built drives everything—trust, accountability, and a shared commitment to excellence,” says Levy. “I loved being part of this series with Carolina Performing Arts because it highlights leadership in an unexpected way; not coach to coach, but leader to leader. It reinforces something we believe deeply in our program: the principles that drive championship performance are universal.” 

Nézet-Séguin echoes that sentiment, discovering those self same rules on the coronary heart of orchestral efficiency.  

“In an orchestra, every musician brings a distinct sound, and my role is to support and help that individuality flourish while allowing everyone to breathe and move as one,” he says. “I’m grateful to Carolina Performing Arts for creating space where the worlds of arts and athletics can meet and reflect each other in such a powerful way. When those boundaries soften, we can see how deeply connected our pursuits truly are and how much we can learn from one another through that exchange.” 

Shaping the Next Chapter of Artists and Athletes

Produced by CPA in collaboration with Raleigh-based artistic company Myriad, filming for Conductors and Coaches occurred in November 2025, timed to coincide with Nézet-Séguin’s November 4–5 go to to Memorial Hall with The Philadelphia Orchestra. Production continued with Levy and the ladies’s lacrosse crew throughout follow on the fields exterior the Bill Koman Practice Complex.  

Previous chapters within the collection obtained prime honors on the American Advertising Awards for excellence in cinematography, enhancing, and authentic music, underscoring the mission’s dedication to highly effective, visually compelling storytelling. Conductors and Coaches now joins the complete Artists Are Athletes / Athletes Are Artists™ assortment on-line, the place viewers can discover all three chapters, behind-the-scenes footage, a Q&A with Levy, and extra companion content material at carolinaperformingarts.org and throughout CPA’s digital platforms. 

“What excites me about this chapter is the way it creates a point of entry. When someone sees a shared quality—in this case, leadership—reflected in an unexpected place, it can dissolve distance and make the experience feel more accessible,” Friedman says. “The arts are such a powerful tool for that. They allow us to break down silos without forcing the conversation, simply by letting people see, feel, and recognize something familiar in a new context. That moment of recognition matters, because it expands how we understand the world, and how we understand each other.” 

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About Carolina Performing Arts 

Founded in 2005, Carolina Performing Arts is likely one of the nation’s main multi-arts presenters and producers, housed on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. We collaborate with artists from Carolina’s campus and the world over to spark discovery, foster belonging, and produce folks collectively on stage, in lecture rooms, and throughout communities. We spend money on analysis and improvement of recent artistic work, together with commissioning 80 productions in our first 20 years. We work to develop entry, together with providing $11 tickets to each Ok–graduate scholar statewide. Together, we’re constructing communities the place dwell efficiency—and a way of belonging—thrives, cultivating a North Carolina that’s more healthy, extra joyful, and higher related. 

About Yannick Nézet-Séguin

One of the world’s most sought-after conductors, Yannick Nézet-Séguin leads among the most prestigious musical establishments globally. Known for his bodily power, emotional connection, and long-term creative relationships, he brings a particular presence to the rostrum—guiding a whole bunch of artists towards a shared imaginative and prescient in actual time. 

About Jenny Levy

A Hall of Fame coach and some of the achieved leaders in collegiate athletics, Jenny Levy has constructed one of many nation’s premier packages via preparation, belief, and collective objective. Her groups persistently compete on the highest degree, reflecting a management fashion grounded in readability, accountability, and perception within the group. 

Learn extra concerning the video here.