Charles Hamlen is one of the most respected professionals in the world of arts management. Together with business partner Edna Landau, he founded Hamlen/Landau Management in 1979. Five years later, the company was acquired by the International Management Group, becoming IMG Artists, where Charles served as co-director from 1984 to 1992, overseeing the careers of artists including violinists Joshua Bell, Leila Josefowicz, and Itzhak Perlman; the Emerson String Quartet; and pianists Stephen Hough, Evgeny Kissin, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and André Watts.

In 1993, Charles left IMG Artists to found Classical Action: Performing Arts Against AIDS. After 16 years at the helm of Classical Action, he returned to IMG Artists where he served as chairman until 2012. He is currently Artistic Advisor to New York’s Orchestra of St Luke’s and has served as Artistic Advisor to Tippet Rise since the autumn of 2016.

His numerous honors include the 1998 Jerry Willis Award from the Western Arts Alliance, the 2000 Eos Orchestra’s Michael Palm Award, the International Society for the Performing Arts’ 2004 Angel Award, and the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. Charles was named a Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government in 2004.

Lindsey assists in leading Tippet Rise, alongside her husband, Pete. She keeps the art center’s logistics humming smoothly, oversees public relations, and is instrumental to our planning and development. Lindsey coordinates with artists, architects, and musicians, community members and educators, from kindergarten teachers to university deans, as well as leaders from regional and national cultural institutions, welcoming everyone into the Tippet Rise family. In short, Lindsey helps to bring the Tippet Rise vision of nature, music, and art intertwined to full, blooming life — an experience she hopes to share with her Montana friends and people from all over the world. She and Pete live in Red Lodge with their baby girl.

A lifelong pursuit of adventure in the mountains led Pete to Tippet Rise where he draws on his experiences to make the organization’s vision a reality. Intrigued by the exploration of art and nature, Pete’s role at Tippet Rise is an adventure in itself. Often working in tandem with his wife, Lindsey, Pete provides team leadership, oversees the art center’s operations, planning, and development, and coordinates the installation of its sculptures. When he isn’t orchestrating Tippet Rise’s many facets, Pete enjoys life with Lindsey and their baby girl, all the better if it’s outside beneath Montana’s big, beautiful sky.

Ben oversees ranching operations at Tippet Rise. From May to mid-November, this work includes grazing oversight of 200 to 300 calf-cow pairs, 100 to 120 heifers and 2,000 to 2,600 head of sheep. He works year-round to improve Tippet Rise’s rangeland health as well as its water use and conservation practices. Through these efforts, Ben endeavors to make Tippet Rise an increasingly healthy and viable ranchland, wildlife habitat and treasured piece of the Montana landscape. In the process, he hopes the art center’s guests can enjoy and experience Montana’s rich ranching heritage. For the past ten years, Ben has lived with his family on or next to what is now Tippet Rise.

From the moment a guest first learns of Tippet Rise to the time they exit the art center’s gates, Melissa helps facilitate their experience from beginning to end. With a background in theater and hospitality, she oversees communication and administration at the art center. From managing the Tippet Rise website and social media accounts to orchestrating event planning and ticketing, her contributions are indispensable to day-to-day operations and to her colleagues at the art center. Melissa lives in Red Lodge with her husband and two young daughters.

With a background in fine art and education, Beth has taught kindergarten through 12th grade, as well as at the college level, running art workshops, teaching classes, and giving tours. She earned a BFA from the University of Wyoming and an MFA from the University of Montana and is a professional artist herself. Beth began working at Tippet Rise as an intern during the inaugural season. Today, she manages the visitor center and oversees our art education programs, which focus on art, music, architecture, and conservation through hands-on workshops for all ages.

Alexis helps to write and edit articles and other content for the Tippet Rise website, and she assists with our public relations efforts. Although she often works behind the scenes, her favorite days are spent at the art center working alongside her colleagues, helping guests, and marveling at the extraordinary acoustics of the Olivier Music Barn. She is also a freelance writer, contributing to Oxford University Press, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, and other publications, often writing about Greece, where she has lived off and on since childhood. Today, Alexis lives in Red Lodge with her children, a bird dog, and a couple of Greek cats.

Monte maintains the Olivier Music Barn’s state-of-the-art audio-video systems and supervises all audio recordings of performances at Tippet Rise, which he masters in ultra-high-fidelity formats and in 9.1 surround-sound. With a Bachelor’s degree in Audio Production from Webster University in St Louis, his background also includes recording the St. Louis Symphony’s performances for several years. But Monte not only records performances, he also performs: on the trumpet, which he has played since childhood.

Dan helps to maintain the buildings, mechanical systems, vehicles, and equipment at Tippet Rise. Always willing to help with whatever is needed, he is not only indispensable to the art center’s operations, he is a friendly face to guests, artists, and staff alike. A lifelong Montanan, Dan loves the outdoors, especially the mountains and the rivers and streams, which he explores by raft as often as possible. He and his wife Yvonne live near Absarokee, Montana. They have three children and four wonderful grandchildren. Dan is proud to be on the Tippet Rise staff, believing it to be “one of the greatest places there is.”

Carl has served as interpretive ranger at Tippet Rise since the inaugural season, patrolling the art center’s 10,000-plus acres by mountain bike and providing insight and guidance to our guests as they explore our trail system on foot and by bike. He also serves as events crew, assisting with the setup and breakdown of concerts. When not working as a ranger or on the events crew, Carl helps to complete a wide variety of projects, and assists with the coordination of new building endeavors. Originally from the great state of Maine, Carl has a degree in Biology from Saint Lawrence University in upstate New York.

Emily works with musicians, actors, and her fellow video crew members to film Tippet Rise performances and other productions, films that she later helps to edit. Her personal interests include hiking and skiing, all the better if it’s with a few dogs. She also enjoys filmmaking, stop-motion animation, and photography. Emily was born in Maryland, went to school in Richmond, Virginia, and moved to Montana in the summer of 2017 to work for Tippet Rise.