Tilles Center names William R. Biddle new executive director

Tilles Center for the Performing Arts has a new executive director.

William R. Biddle, founding director of the Ferguson Center for the Arts at Christopher Newport University in Hampton Roads, Virginia, was selected after a national search following the retirement in July of Elliott Sroka, who served as Tilles Center’s director for 29 years.

“Bill Biddle’s success in building a vibrant performing arts venue from the ground up is a testament to his vision, managerial acumen and passion for the arts,” Peter J. Klein, chairman of the Tilles Center Board of Overseers, said in announcing the appointment on Monday. “His record of attracting world-renowned performers makes him an ideal leader to continue our 35-year tradition of bringing the world’s greatest performers to Long Island.”

“I am honored by the opportunity to lead LIU’s prestigious Tilles Center,” Biddle said after his appointment. “The energy on campus, the commitment to creativity and the clear institutional vision for excellence are incredibly contagious and motivating.”

He makes the move to the LIU Post campus in Brookville after 12 years at the Ferguson Center. Since it opened under Biddle’s direction in 2004, Ferguson has drawn more than 2 million visitors and hosted an array of internationally renowned performers, including the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Andrea Bocelli and Arturo Sandoval, among many others.

“We’re pleased to welcome Bill Biddle to the LIU community,” LIU president Kimberly R. Cline said. “I’m certain that under Bill’s stewardship, Tilles Center will continue to produce programs that challenge the limits of higher education and expand access to the arts throughout the region.”