BRINGING THE STAGE TO YOU®
Defining The Digital Performing Arts
Stage Access is defining digital performing arts as the only company in North America that produces, distributes and licenses classical arts programming across multiple platforms, including a theatrical relationship with IMAX®, as well as its own STAGE ACCESS on-demand streaming service featuring host Kelsey Grammer, which is available on the web and for iOS, Android, Apple TV, Amazon Fire and Roku.
With a mission of Bringing the Stage to You®, Stage Access is a leading producer of acclaimed original programs and actively co-produces with global partners. Recent productions include Renée Fleming’s Cities That Sing; Yo-Yo Ma, Six Solo Bach Cello Suites from the Odeon, Athens; The 3 Tenors: From Caracalla to the World, The 30th Anniversary Documentary; John Neumeier: A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Featured News
IMAX® and Stage Access Present Renée Fleming’s Cities That Sing, Two Stunning Cinematic Event Films
NEWS
MEET THE TEAM
Bruce H. Lipnick
Founder & CEO
Sarah Hoit
Strategic Advisor
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Bruce is the Founder and CEO of Stage Access, the leading company in North America that produces, distributes, and licenses classical arts programming across multiple platforms. His background as a film producer includes Renée Fleming’s Cities That Sing co-produced with IMAX, The 3 Tenors: From Caracalla to the World 30th Anniversary Documentary, Yo-Yo Ma Performs Bach From the Odeon of Herodes Atticus Athens, and The Extraordinary Journey of Fernando Bujones.
Bruce previously enjoyed a distinguished financial services career as the Founder, CEO and Chairman of Asset Alliance Corporation, an alternative investment management company with more than $7 billion under management. He is a pioneer in hedge fund portfolio management, seeded 18 firms and launched the first 40 Act mutual fund with AUM growing to $1.7 billion. Bruce has received numerous industry awards including Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year and the Lifetime Achievement Award for Giving from Hedge Funds Care. Bruce also held an ownership stake in Monarch Business & Wealth Management, a firm representing internationally acclaimed entertainers and athletes and helped fund, launch and served on the board of SMArtX Advisory Solutions, a leading asset management technology platform with $50 billion under management.
A devoted patron of the arts, Bruce has proudly supported major performing arts institutions including New York City Ballet, The Baryshnikov Arts Center, The Washington Ballet, Boston Ballet, and The School of American Ballet in New York.
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Ms. Hoit is the Co-Founder & Chairman of the Global Brain Health Initiative with Social Impact Partners, a nonprofit organization dedicated to driving collaboration, innovation and investment to create change and combat neurodegenerative diseases globally. Ms. Hoit was previously the Co-Founder, CEO and Chair of Connected Living, Inc., serving more than 500 senior living communities across the United States, and orchestrated the sale of the company to Omega Healthcare Investors. She holds a BA with Honors from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Harvard Business School, where she was awarded a public service fellowship.
Elmar Kruse
Global Content Acquisitions
Renée Fleming
Strategic Advisor
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Mr. Kruse is head of C Major Entertainment, a global leader in production, marketing and distribution of audio & audiovisual music programs comprising more than 3,000 hours of music on film and TV formats. Mr. Kruse was instrumental in the creation of the legendary The Three Tenors with their first concert production for the 1990 FIFA World Cup. In 1994, The Three Tenors concert at Dodger Stadium was estimated to have 1.3 billion viewers worldwide.
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The American soprano and global super-star is one of the most beloved and celebrated singers of our time, captivating audiences with her sumptuous voice, consummate artistry and compelling stage presence.
Ms. Fleming is a 2023 Kennedy Center Honoree and was appointed Goodwill Ambassador for Arts and Health by the World Health Organization. She received the National Medal of Arts by President Obama, America’s highest honor for an individual artist, and is the first classical artist ever to sing the U.S. National Anthem at the Super Bowl in 2014. Winner of numerous Grammy® Awards, Ms. Fleming has performed at momentous occasions around the world from the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony to the Diamond Jubilee Concert for Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. An accomplished presenter, she has hosted a wide variety of television and radio broadcasts, including Live from Lincoln Center.
Ms. Fleming is a leading advocate for the study of the powerful connections between the arts and health. Ms. Fleming’s recently published anthology, Music and Mind: Harnessing the Arts for Health and Wellness, is a collection of essays from leading experts about the impact of music and the arts on health and the human experience.
Amanda Lipnick
Director of Operations
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Ms. Lipnick is an accomplished publishing and media industry professional with over 15+ years experience in project management, strategic brand development, and licensed partnerships with leading entertainment and consumer product brands.
She was previously Associate Director of Marketing at Time Inc. managing national digital marketing and publicity campaigns with iconic brands, including People, Real Simple, Food & Wine, and she led the Time Inc. Books licensed publishing programs with Discovery Communications.
Ms. Lipnick also managed multimedia marketing campaigns and strategic partnerships at HarperCollins Publishers for New York Times bestselling authors, key franchise brands, and classic literary estates including C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia movie tie-in program with Walt Disney Pictures.
She is a graduate of Boston University’s School of Management.
Septime Webre
Artistic Advisor
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Mr. Webre is an internationally recognized artistic director, choreographer, educator, and advocate. He joined Hong Kong Ballet as the Artistic Director in 2017 after 17 years as Artistic Director of The Washington Ballet in Washington, DC from 1999-2016. Previously, he served as Artistic Director of the American Repertory Ballet, based in Princeton, New Jersey. In addition, Septime has served as the Artistic Director of Halcyon, a Washington DC-based nonprofit organization designed to seek and celebrate creativity in all forms.
Mr. Webre received the prestigious Star of Outstanding Award at UNESCO’s 2024 Global Awards for World Heritage Education Innovative Cases.
Sanford R. Climan
Senior Advisor
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Mr. Climan is President of Entertainment Media Ventures, a Los Angeles-based firm active in media investment and strategic advisory work, with a particular focus on disruptive technologies and entities currently impacting the traditional boundaries of business, media and entertainment. Throughout his career, he has held senior executive positions on both the creative and business side of the entertainment industry, including serving as Corporate Executive Vice President of Universal Studios and as a senior talent agent and founding head of the corporate advisory practice at Creative Artists Agency.
Fernando Garibay
Strategic Advisor, AI Music
Ronald M. Razmi, MD
Strategic Advisor, AI Healthcare
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Dr. Razmi is a cardiologist and the co-founder and Managing Director of Zoi Capital, a venture capital firm that invests in the applications of AI in healthcare. Dr. Razmi completed his medical training at the Mayo Clinic and holds an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. He was a McKinsey consultant before launching a population health management software company at the dawn of digital health.
He is the author of the recently published book, AI Doctor: The Rise of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and has appeared on major media outlets such as Newsweek, ABC, CNBC Power Lunch, and Wall Street Journal.
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Mr. Garibay is the Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of the Garibay Institute advancing the research and practice of soft power and public diplomacy. He is a Grammy Award-winning music producer, songwriter, polymath, and creative pioneer making hits with popular artists, including Lady Gaga, U2, Shakira, Whitney Houston, and Bruno Mars. Mr. Garibay is a visiting lecturer at Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, World Economic Forum, and Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations.
