Click on each day of the week to view the schedule. All sessions take place in the Ballroom at the Omni Hotel, unless otherwise noted.
12:30 pm
Omni Hotel | Floor 2
Registration will be open until 4:00 pm.
3:45 pm
4:00 pm
4:15 pm
During this introduction activity, meet your fellow Levitt Music Series grantees from across the country, learn about their organizations and communities, and hear why they applied for a Levitt Music Series grant.
5:15 pm
Narrated by the late Liz Levitt Hirsch, this short documentary premiered at the 2025 Levitt National Convening and celebrates the story of the Levitt family and charts the origins and evolution of the Levitt Family Foundation—from Mortimer’s rags-to-riches rise as founder of The Custom Shop to meeting and marrying the incomparable Mimi, together becoming noted patrons of the arts, and later entrusting the family’s philanthropy to Liz, whose passion and dedication inspired the Foundation’s growth and impact.
5:45 pm
Levitt programs across America leverage the power of free, live music to strengthen the social fabric and economic vitality of communities, bringing people together of all ages and backgrounds to celebrate our shared humanity, amplify local pride, and create more socially connected towns and cities. In this opening plenary, Sharon will discuss why the Levitt mission resonates deeply in communities of all sizes throughout our country, the exponential impact of free concerts in public spaces, and how the national Levitt network of nonprofit music venues and music series locations are fueling this movement to create more healthy, vibrant, and thriving communities—one city, and one concert, at a time.
Sharon will then be joined by Levitt Family Foundation Board Co-Chair Kathy Eberly Ovitt for an engaging fireside chat that will include Kathy’s reflections of working with Mortimer and the Levitt family over several decades, the evolution of the family’s giving to support free concerts across America, and the continued commitment of the Foundation board in building community through music.
6:30 pm
Omni Hotel | Museum
Following our afternoon sessions, join us at the Welcome Dinner Reception for an evening of great conversation and new connections. Enjoy time with your Levitt peers over craft cocktails and a delicious buffet.
6:30 am
Grand Avenue Corridor
Begin your morning with a walk along Los Angeles’ cultural corridor to Grand Park, while taking in views of the mountains, The Music Center, and City Hall. Click here to view the map of the walking route.
8:00 am
During breakfast each day, Levitt Grantee Ambassadors and Levitt Network Consultants will host tables for informal conversations. Stop by with your questions!
Omni Hotel | Museum
Grantees from Tennessee will enjoy breakfast as a cohort together with their state funding partners.
8:45 am
9:00 am
This session will set the framework for your role as a grantee of the Levitt Family Foundation, covering Levitt Music Series program guidelines, funding disbursements and deliverables, and the grantee portal. Grounded in our core values, we’ll discuss the artist selection process and artist relations, best practices for lawn activation and standards for onsite fundraising. To support an impactful music series, we’ll introduce the Levitt Music Series Toolkit and how to leverage valuable Levitt network resources and support opportunities. You’ll gain a deeper understanding of how the fundamentals of the Levitt Music Series grant program are rooted in our values of joy, connectedness, inclusivity, catalytic impact, and dynamic partnership.
9:45 am
A significant part of every impactful Levitt Music Series are intentional partnerships—collaborations that bring people, organizations and ideas together to create meaningful, layered concert experiences. Whether it’s partnering with city agencies and community groups or local artists, nonprofits, and cultural stakeholders, these relationships fuel the creativity, inclusivity, and connectedness that define the Levitt experience. Building cross-sector partnerships is key to presenting a music series that authentically engages your community. Discover best practices for developing community-centered partnerships to activate your public space, curate culturally relevant programming, broaden reach, and advance your community’s shared priorities.
11:00 am
11:15 am
This session will cover strategies to secure broad funding support for your Levitt Music Series, including win-win sponsor packages and creative ways to structure successful cash and in-kind sponsorships, as well as grant opportunities across industry categories and tips for strong proposals. You’ll learn about cultivating donors both during the concerts and beyond and how to build incremental fundraising momentum among funders and individual donors at all levels as your music series grows. Leveraging grants and sponsorships to support your concert series alongside your organization’s other programs will round out this session focused on key elements for sustaining an impactful music series.
12:30 pm
Join a table led by Levitt Grantee Ambassadors or Levitt Network Consultants for connection and informal conversations. Tables for state cohorts include Mississippi and Tennessee.
1:15 pm
Küf Knotz & Christine Elise is a duo bringing together songwriter, producer, and MC Küf Knotz, named Philadelphia Magazine’s Best Rapper of 2022, and classically trained instrumentalist Christine Elise Gallagher. Their captivating sound combines Küf’s hip-hop poetry, infused with soul, Lo-Fi, and ‘90s era vibes, with Christine’s classical skills in harp, piano, and vocals. In addition to their recordings and performances, together they co-founded Higher Grounds Music, a community music therapy outreach performance project that uses the power of music, clinical training, and performance experience to instill confidence and foster personal growth. Reflecting the incredible artistry presented by Levitt venues and music series, this duo has performed on Levitt stages across the country.
2:00 pm
Join Levitt Network Artist Booking & Routing Consultant Anne Sturm for the fundamentals of curating a music series lineup through a values-driven, mission-aligned approach. You’ll gain insights into artist selection and the booking process, communicating with agents, contract negotiations, routing opportunities, and advancing shows. This session will highlight best practices for incorporating local voices into the curation process and building an artist roster reflective of your community. Explore effective strategies to enhance your series booking and create memorable shows for your community.
3:00 pm
Led by Levitt Network Safety & Security Consultant Peter Ashwin, this session offers essential guidance on strengthening your team’s capacity to manage public safety and security at Levitt concerts. You will learn proven practices for preparing for, responding to, and recovering from adverse events, including severe weather planning, disruptive behavior and external threats, and how to implement effective command, control, and communication with your audience during challenging situations. Hear a Levitt Music Series case study of how emergency protocols were put into action in real time—providing insight into active response when the unexpected occurs. This session will provide you with useful tools to develop readiness plans and build a culture of preparedness and resilience.
4:15 pm
4:30 pm
Hit the high notes with your marketing! In this session, explore tips and strategies to maximize your promotional efforts to generate excitement, build audiences, and ensure you reach all members of your community leading up to, during, and beyond your Levitt Music Series. In addition to covering the communications resources included in the Levitt Music Series Toolkit, you’ll learn best practices for leveraging media partnerships and in-kind marketing opportunities to spread the word about your series on a budget. Inspire your community to feel connected to your Levitt Music Series, and one another, through multi-pronged messaging and dynamic marketing.
7:00 pm
Vespaio | Downtown Los Angeles
Join your Levitt peers for a celebratory evening of delicious cuisine, great conversation, and lively connection at Vespaio. Located along the Grand Avenue cultural corridor across from the Omni Hotel, Vespaio is known for its classic Italian fare of seasonal dishes infused with influences from the Mediterranean. Offering beautifully plated meals, curated wines, specialty cocktails, and an elegant ambiance, Vespaio has all the ingredients for a lovely dining experience.
6:30 am
Grand Avenue Corridor
Begin your morning with a walk along Los Angeles’ cultural corridor to Grand Park, while taking in views of the mountains, The Music Center, and City Hall. Click here to view the map of the walking route.
8:00 am
During breakfast, Levitt Grantee Ambassadors and Levitt Network Consultants will host tables for informal conversations. Stop by with your questions!
8:45 am
9:00 am
Lawn activation is a key element in creating meaningful community experiences at Levitt concerts. Explore best practices and approaches for exponential impact of your Levitt Music Series by developing creative, place-based lawn activations that transform your concert site into a platform for community connections and discovery. Learn ways to effectively spotlight local businesses, nonprofits, and vendors while amplifying pride of place and engaging your audiences in memorable and fun ways. You’ll also discover actionable ideas for attracting and retaining volunteers and inspiring additional investment in your music series.
10:30 am
10:45 am
Closing out our time together will be an open forum Q&A with featured Conference speakers and returning Levitt Music Series grantees, providing space for you to ask additional questions about the Levitt Music Series grant program, topics covered throughout the Conference, Levitt network resources, and more, including what to expect in the year ahead.
11:45 am
12:00 pm
