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Andrew Ousley is a director, producer, impresario and entrepreneur who is committed to creating a better story around Classical Music. His work has been hailed as "transcendent" (Billboard), "emotionally-charged" (Forbes), and "numinous and genre-bending" (The New Yorker), while media have described Ousley himself as everything from a "bleakly-winking impresario" (The New York Times), to an "evil genius" (Concerto Net), to "crazy-ass and cockeyed, as all great visionaries must be" (The Observer).
Ousley is the founder and Artistic Director of Death of Classical, where he curates and directs a series of classical music and opera concerts in Crypts, Catacombs, Cemeteries, and other venues around NYC and the United States. Death of Classical has presented leading artists and ensembles such as the New York Philharmonic, Lawrence Brownlee, Gil Shaham, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Alexandre Tharaud, the Attacca Quartet, Simone Dinnerstein, and many more. DoC performances – most of which sell out in moments – have been selected to The New York Times Top Performances of the Year, WQXR's Best Concerts of the Year, as well as being awarded the prestigious Classical:Next "Innovation" Award. Vogue Magazine's culture editor summarized DoC best, calling it “one of the most riveting and unusual chamber music performances of my lifetime.” The response and acclaim has been unanimous, with the New York Times proclaiming that "Classical is alive and well and living in a Crypt, with a series of intimate, charmingly creepy concerts that offer tightly focused programs from top-flight musicians," New York Magazine describing the concerts as “sensitively programmed events in which music and architecture almost meld." The culture editor of Vogue perhaps summarized DoC best in a review, calling it “one of the most riveting and unusual chamber music performances of my lifetime.”
Ousley is also the founder and president of Unison Media, one of the leading PR & Marketing agencies for Classical Music and the performing arts whose clients include Gustavo Dudamel, Wynton Marsalis, Joshua Bell, Hélène Grimaud, Lawrence Brownlee, Jeremy Denk, Tania León, Warner Classics, PROTOTYPE Festival, and more. Andrew's work with Unison has been covered in The New York Times, Forbes, Creator Magazine, The Week, and other media outlets, he was selected as one of Musical America's Top 30 Professionals of the year, and was awarded an American Prize for Marketing. A fierce advocate for education and helping young musicians succeed through the crucial early stages of their career, Andrew has given seminars and talks with The Juilliard School, Young Concert Artists, Concert Artists Guild, The New School, Bard College, Frost School of Music, Opera America, Merola Opera Program, and more.
Andrew has been profiled by The New York Times, CBS Sunday Morning, Forbes, New York 1 News, Fox 5 News, The Week, Creator Magazine, and more. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and their glorious cat Gizmo. In his non-existent free time, he also runs Burger Club, and his photographs have been published in the Associated Press, Newsweek, New York Magazine, Philadelphia Inquirer and more. He was also once featured in a Pepsi ad campaign...
