The Peninsula Music Festival has announced that Christoph Ptack has been selected as the festival’s new Executive Director. Ptack replaces long time PMF Executive Director Sharon Grutzmacher, who retired and has moved out of the area. He will officially begin his tenure in January. A former Artistic Administrator at the Lyric Opera in Chicago, his first administrative position was in 1992 with the Lake Forest Symphony Association. Ptack also worked as a member of the administration for Chicago Opera Theatre before becoming a staffer at the Lyric Opera. His duties included casting, contracting and production planning, as well as negotiating artist, conductor and choreographer contracts. Ptack was recently appointed to the Judiciary Board of the American Prize, a council charged with judging a series of national competitions in the performing arts and has been involved in judging for other competitions over the years. The Peninsula Music Festival begins its 67th season in 2019.