Halsey Miller North, 75, passed away from lung disease on September 17, 2022 at Riddle Village in Media, PA, where he and his wife and professional partner for fifty years Alice Henderson North had lived for the past three years.

Previously of New York City, Halsey was the first person in the United States to receive an MBA in performing arts management (from Rollins College, Winter Park, FL). Halsey also earned a BA in economics (1970, Earlham College, Richmond, IN) and was a graduate of Chestnut Hill Academy (1966, Philadelphia, PA).

He was an early advocate of employing the arts to strengthen community economic development and cultural equity. In 1987, Halsey and Alice co-founded The North Group Inc. As a team, they provided fundraising, strategic planning, and board development counsel for over 200 nonprofit arts organizations across the United States. Notable relationships include multi-year engagements with the National Endowment for the Arts, Washington, DC; Maui Arts & Cultural Center, Kahului, HI; Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, Vienna, VA; Walton Arts Center, Fayetteville, AR; Great Lakes Theater/Hanna Theatre project, Cleveland, OH; Proctors, Schenectady, NY; Clemens Center, Elmira, NY; Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor, MI; Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brookline, MA; Tampa Theatre, Tampa, FL; and Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Fort Lauderdale, FL.

Halsey and Alice were pioneering collectors and advocates of contemporary Japanese ceramics. They co-authored two books — Listening to Clay: Conversations with Contemporary Japanese Ceramic Artists (New York: Monacelli Press, 2022) and Contemporary Clay: Japanese Ceramics for the New Century (Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 2005). They donated works from their ceramics collection to major museums, primarily The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, where their works have been on view since 2013. Pieces from their collection are included in the exhibition Perfect Imperfection in Ceramic Art at The Met from April 2022. The Met also houses the database, archives, and library for their collection, all of which is available for research.

The League of Historic American Theatres (LHAT) has stated Halsey was a guiding influence for cultural organizations throughout the United States. His knowledge and expertise of fundraising tools and techniques has been widely acknowledged by academics, arts providers, and fundraising professionals as respected, exemplary, and effective. With Alice, he has raised hundreds of millions of dollars in ways that made each organization more creative, capable, and sustainable.

Over the years, Halsey has been honored with many awards, starting in 1988 with the APAP (Association of Performing Arts Professionals) Fan Taylor Award “for outstanding service, creative thinking, leadership, and significant impact on the profession of presenting the performing arts.” In 2013, APAP honored the couple as the first recipients of the Halsey & Alice North Board Alumni Award, since presented annually. They were honored with Lifetime Memberships in APAP and the League of Historic American Theatres in recognition for their years of service as board members, teachers, and volunteers.

For 45 years, Halsey and Alice taught fundraising at conferences across the United States, primarily for the League of Historic American Theatres (LHAT), Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP), and Americans for the Arts. He championed the phrases “Passion bends reality,” to remind nonprofits about the virtue of their work; “Never be in a hurry for the wrong answer,” to encourage patience and planning; and “If you want money, ask for advice,” to emphasize the need to develop people's emotional connection to the nonprofit organization before asking them for money.

Prior to heading The North Group Inc., Halsey served as Executive Director of New York City's Cultural Council Foundation, Director of Corporate Contributions at Philip Morris Companies, Executive Director of the Charlotte Arts & Science Council and, simultaneously, creator and first Executive Director of Charlotte's Spirit Square Cultural Center —an anchor for the revitalization of Charlotte's downtown, Executive Director of the North Carolina Arts Council, and Managing Producer of the Little Theatre of Winston-Salem.

In addition to his wife, Halsey is survived by his brother William M. North, Jr. and his wife Mary D. North; his brother Edwin M. North and his wife Linda M. North; his nephew and nieces Andrew R. North and his wife Wendy L. North, Julia N. Boerth and her husband Thomas J. Boerth, Barbara C. North and her husband Justin Quimby, and Sandra E. North and her wife Angela Letizia; and his great nephews and nieces Peter M. Boerth, Erich M. Boerth, Caroline M. Boerth, Charlotte R. North, and Carolyn E. North.

A celebration of Halsey's life will take place at Riddle Village, Media, PA, officiated by Halsey's brother, the Reverend William M. North, Jr.

View full obituary at https://www.haganfuneralhome.com

In lieu of flowers, tributes in the form of memorial gifts to the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP), League of Historic American Theatres (LHAT), or The Riddle Village Endowment Fund (1048 W. Baltimore Pike, Media, PA 19063) would be appreciated.

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For over 40 years, Halsey North assisted nonprofit theaters, performing arts centers, arts councils, and museums across the country with fundraising feasibility studies, capital and endowment campaigns, annual operating campaigns, strategic planning, board development and retreats, cultural planning, business plans, and workshops on fundraising, board development, and planning. He brought a unique national perspective that enabled him to share “best practices” from around the country with clients, which saved them time and money. The North Group Inc. specialized in an integrated approach to planning, board development, and fundraising designed to strengthen an organization's fundraising capacity and effectiveness.

Awards:

• Lifetime Membership in the Association of Performing Arts Professionals November 2018
• Board Emeritus board membership from the League of Historic American Theatres (LHAT) Board of Directors April 2016
• "Halsey and Alice North Board Alumni Award" from the Association of Performing Arts Professionals FIRST RECIPIENTS 2013; subsequent recipients are 2014 Mikki Shepard, Apollo Theater Foundation, NYC; 2015 Lisa Booth, Lisa Booth Management, NYC; 2016 Ken Fischer, University Musical Society (UMS), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI; 2017 Colleen Jennings-Roggensack, ASU Gammage, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ; 2018 Ivan Sygoda, Pentacle, NYC; 2019 Susie Surkamer, South Arts, Atlanta, GA; 2020 Jackie Davis, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, NYC; 2021 Olga Garay-English, independent arts consultant and Senior Advisor for International Affairs to Fundación Teatro a Mil, Los Angeles, CA; 2022 Susie Farr, APAP and Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
• Chairman's Award from Americans for the Arts 1993
• Fan Taylor Award from the Association of Performing Arts Professionals for outstanding service, creative thinking, leadership, and significant impact on the profession of presenting the performing arts 1988
• Distinguished Service Award from the North Carolina Association of Arts Councils 1979

Assisted, among others:

• Arkansas:
  Walton Arts Center
    and Fayetteville Public Library in Fayetteville
  Writers' Colony in Eureka Springs

• Alabama:
  The Arts Council in Huntsville
  Princess Theatre in Decatur

• California:
  Arts Council of Santa Clara County in San Jose
  Gallo Center for the Arts in Modesto
  George Coates Performance Works,
    Chanticleer,
    and San Francisco Girls Chorus in San Francisco
  Oakland Youth Chorus in Oakland
  San Diego Theatres
  UC Davis Presents in Davis
  

• Colorado:
  Dance Aspen in Aspen
  Lincoln Center in Fort Collins

• Connecticut:
  Garde Arts Center in New London
  Warner Theatre in Torrington 

• Delaware:
  Wilmington Music School
    and Brandywine Baroque in Wilmington 

• Florida:
  Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale
  Gusman Center for the Performing Arts in Miami
  Jacksonville Art Museum in Jacksonville
  Ruth Eckerd Hall/Capitol Theatre in Clearwater
  Tampa Theatre Foundation in Tampa 

• Georgia:
  Southern Arts Federation (now South Arts)
    and Metro Arts in Atlanta
  Georgia Assembly of Community Arts Agencies in Rome
  

• Hawaii:
  Honolulu Theatre For Youth in Honolulu, Oahu
  Hui No 'eau Visual Arts Center in Makawao, Maui
  Maui Arts & Cultural Center in Kahului, Maui

• Idaho:
  Idaho Shakespeare Festival in Boise
  Idaho Falls Arts Council/Willard Arts Center/Colonial Theatre in Idaho Falls

• Illinois:
  Jacksonville Center for the Arts in Jacksonville

• Indiana:
  Arts United of Greater Fort Wayne
  The Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel

• Iowa:
  FilmScene and The Englert Theatre, Iowa City
  Main Street Iowa, Iowa Economic Development Authority, Des Moines

• Kansas
  Colonial Fox Theatre Foundation in Pittsburg
  The Orpheum Performing Arts Centre in Wichita

• Maine:
  Bay Chamber Concerts in Rockport
  Bowdoin International Music Festival in Brunswick
  University of Maine/Augusta
    and The Maine Arts Sponsors Association in Augusta
  Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts in Newcastle

• Maryland:
  Maryland State Arts Council
    and Baltimore Opera Company in Baltimore

• Massachusetts:
  Arts Extension Service at the University of Massachusetts Amherst
  Coolidge Corner Theatre Foundation in Brookline
  The Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield
  Dreamland Theater in Nantucket
  Institute of Contemporary Art
    and Boston Computer Society in Boston

• Michigan:
  Cherry County Playhouse in Traverse City
  Michigan Foundation for the Arts (now Michigan Council for Arts & Cultural Affairs) in Lansing
  Michigan Theater Foundation and The State & Michigan Project in Ann Arbor

• Mississippi:
  Mississippi Arts Commission

• Missouri:
  Joplin Business and Industrial Development Corporation/City of Joplin/Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce/Joplin Center for Arts & Entertainment project
    and Connect2Culture/Joplin Center for Arts & Entertainment project in Joplin

• Nebraska:
  Opera/Omaha
    and Nebraska Arts Council in Omaha

• New Hampshire:
  Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord
  North Country Studio Workshops in Hanover

• New Jersey:
  Arts & Business Partnership of Southern New Jersey in Cape May
  Montclair Art Museum in Montclair
  New Brunswick Cultural Center in New Brunswick
  New Jersey State Council on the Arts Challenge Fund
  State Theatre New Jersey in New Brunswick
  Wheaton Village Glass Center in Millville

• New Mexico:
  Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival

• New York:
  American Academy in Rome,
    American Institute of Graphic Arts,
    American Music Center,
    Association of Hispanic Arts,
    Chamber Music America,
    Cultural Council Foundation,
    Elaine Kaufman Cultural Center,
    Hostos Culture & Arts Program,
    National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts,
    Negro Ensemble Company,
    Network of Cultural Centers of Color,
    New York University Department of Art,
    and North American Performing Arts Managers & Agents in New York City
  The Arts Center of the Capital Region in Troy
  Bardavon 1869 Opera House in Poughkeepsie
  Clemens Center in Elmira
  East End Arts Council in Riverhead
  Empire State Craft Alliance in Corning
  Frederic Remington Art Museum in Ogdensburg
  Historic Albany Foundation in Albany
  Hudson Opera House in Hudson
  NYS Arts/Alliance of New York State Arts Organizations in Mattituck
  Orpheus Theatre in Oneonta
  Proctors in Schenectady
  Roberson Center in Binghamton
  Rome Capitol Theatre in Rome
  The Stanley Performing Arts Center in Utica
  The Tarrytown Music Hall in Tarrytown
  Universal Preservation Hall in Saratoga Springs
  Ulster Performing Arts Center in Kingston
  Arts Westchester in White Plains

• North Carolina:
  Alliance for a Regional Concert Hall
    and Thalian Hall Center for the Performing Arts in Wilmington
  Ashe County Little Theatre in West Jefferson
  Asheville Arts Council in Asheville
  Carolina Theatre
    and Durham Arts Council in Durham
  Charlotte Arts & Science Council
    and Spirit Square Cultural Center in Charlotte
  Little Theatre of Winston Salem in Winston-Salem
  North Carolina Arts Council,
    Raleigh Little Theatre,
    and United Arts Council of Raleigh and Wake County in Raleigh

• Ohio:
  E.J. Thomas Hall/University of Akron
    and Akron Civic Theatre in Akron
  Great Lakes Theater/Hanna Theatre project
    and Dance Cleveland in Cleveland
  Montgomery County Arts & Cultural District
    and Dayton Art Institute in Dayton
  Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Oberlin
  Renaissance Performing Arts Association in Mansfield
  

• Oregon:
  Oregon Arts Commission in Salem

• Pennsylvania:
  Allegheny Highlands Regional Theatre in Ebensburg
  ArtsQuest/SteelStacks Project in Bethlehem
  Association for the Colonial Theatre in Phoenixville
  Cumberland Valley School of Music in Chambersburg
  Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance in Philadelphia
  Pennsylvania Council on the Arts in Harrisburg
  Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
    and Pittsburgh Filmmakers in Pittsburgh
  Reading Symphony in Reading
  Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple
    and Lackawana Regional Cultural Council in Scranton
  State Theatre Center for the Arts in Easton
  Strand-Capitol Performing Arts Center in York

• Puerto Rico:
  Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico in San Juan

• South Carolina:
  Newberry Opera House in Newberry

• Tennessee:
  ArtsBuild/Allied Arts Allied Arts of Greater Chattanooga
  Germantown Performing Arts Centre in Germantown
  Memphis Arts Council
  Metro Nashville Arts Commission
  National Storytelling Association in Jonesborough
  Tennessee Arts Commission

• Texas:
  Arts Council of Fort Worth
     and Tarrant County in Fort Worth
  Cultural Arts Council of Houston/Harris County in Houston
  Irving Arts Center in Irving
  Opera & Performing Arts Society (OPAS) at Texas A&M University in College Station
  Texarkana Regional Arts & Humanities Council in Texarkana
  Zachary Scott Theatre Center
    and Center for Women+Their Work in Austin

• Utah:
  Utah Arts Council and Western Folklife Center in Salt Lake City

• Vermont:
  Flynn Center for the Performing Arts in Burlington

• Virginia:
  American String Teachers Association with National School Orchestra Association in Fairfax
  The Paramount Theater in Charlottesville
  Peninsula Council of the Arts in Hampton
  Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts in Vienna

• Washington, DC:
  Americans for the Arts
  Association of Performing Arts Professionals
  National Assembly of State Arts Agencies
  National Endowment for the Arts
  Takoma Theatre Conservancy

• West Virginia:
  Carnegie Hall in Lewisburg
  Clay Center for the Arts & Sciences of West Virginia in Charleston

• Wisconsin:
  Downtown Fond du Lac Partnership/Windhover Center for the Arts/Arts, Education & Entertainment District project in Fond du Lac
  Fox Cities Performing Arts Center in Appleton
  Grand Theater/ArtsBlock project in Wausau
  Kohler Arts Center in Kohler
  Overture Center for the Arts in Madison
  Racine Art Museum in Racine

• Great Britain:
  The Arts Council of Great Britain/British-American Arts Association in London

Other work experience:

• Managing Consultant for the National Endowment for the Arts' 1988-89 and 1989-90 Advancement Programs, leading 16 consultants providing planning and technical assistance to 100 arts organizations nationwide, helping them develop long-range strategic plans
• Executive Director of New York City's Cultural Council Foundation 1983-87
• Vice President of C.W. Shaver & Company, fundraising firm 1980-83
• Director of Corporate Contributions of Philip Morris Companies 1979-80 (now Altria Group, Inc.)
• Executive Director of the Charlotte Arts & Science Council 1976-79 and, simultaneously, creator and first Executive Director of Charlotte's Spirit Square Cultural Center, an anchor for revitalization of Charlotte's downtown 1976-78
• Executive Director of the North Carolina Arts Council 1974-1976
• Managing Producer of the Little Theatre of Winston-Salem 1971-74

Recent and upcoming workshops:

• Association of Performing Arts Professionals Conference (formerly Association of Performing Arts Presenters) 1976, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016
• League of Historic American Theaters Conference 2001; 2002; 2003; 2-day 2004; 2005; 1-day 2006; 2-day 2007; 2008; 1½ day 2009; San Antonio Annual 2010; 1-day pre-conference + Annual Schenectady 2011; San Diego Annual 2012; Dallas Regional/Minneapolis Annual 2013; Chicago Regional/NYC Annual/Seattle Regional 2014; and Des Moines Regional/Nashville Annual/Denver Regional 2015
• Art House Convergence, Midway in Utah 2015, just prior to the Sundance Film Festival
• Main Street Iowa, Iowa Economic Development Authority, Des Moines 1-day Historic Theater and Opera House Workshop 2013

Board member:

• League of Historic American Theatres Board member 2010-2016; Board Emeritus board member since 2016; Chair, Governance Committee 2010-2015; Executive Committee 2014-2015

• Association of Performing Arts Professionals 1976-1981; Executive Committee 1976-1978; Treasurer 1979-1981; conference presenter 1976-2016; recipient 1988 Fan Taylor Award for outstanding service, creative thinking, leadership, and significant impact on the profession of presenting the performing arts; organizer and host of annual Board alumni gatherings to keep former Board members connected and engaged with the Association 1987-2012; Halsey and Alice were first recipients 2013 of the Halsey and Alice North Award for Committed Excellence and Service to the Field by an Alumni Board Member

• Founding board member: North Carolina Alliance for Arts in Education, North Carolina Association of Arts Councils, North Carolina Shakespeare Festival, and Southern Arts Federation
• Former Board member: NYS Arts/Alliance of New York State Arts Organizations,  and National Assembly of Local Arts Agencies (now American for the Arts)

Member:

• The Metropolitan Museum of Art Friends of Asian Art since 2012; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston - Department of Art of Asia, Oceania and Africa since 2007; Friends of the Freer and Sackler Galleries since 1999
• Shakespeare's Globe Centre - USA Patron since 2015; Signature Theatre since 2012; New York City Center since 2003; League of Historic American Theatres since 2000; Association of Performing Arts Professionals since 1975
• Former member: The Juilliard School Drama Council, National Endowment for the Arts' State Arts Council Policy Panel, Locals Panel, Inter-Arts Panel, Advancement Panel, and Presenting Panel; New York City Arts Coalition Steering Committee; New York State Council on the Arts' Technical Assistance Grant Panel 2011 and Arts Service Organizations Panel; New Jersey State Council on the Arts' Major Impact Organization Panel; and North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources' Theatre Arts Section Panel

Publications with Alice North:

• With Louise Cort, "A Conversation with Fukami Sueharu" in Fukami: Purity of Form edited by Andreas Marks (University of Washington Press, May 2011), the catalogue for the exhibition on view March 25 to July 30, 2011, at the Clark Center for Japanese Art & Culture.
• With Joe Earle, CONTEMPORARY CLAY: Japanese Ceramics for the New Century (Japan Society, Inc., 2006), the catalogue for the exhibition on view September 29, 2006, to January 21, 2007, at the Japan Society Gallery, New York, NY
• With Joe Earle, Curator and Chair, Art of Asia, Oceania, & Africa, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (now Vice President of Japan Society and Director of the Japan Society Gallery), CONTEMPORARY CLAY: Japanese Ceramics for the New Century (MFA Publications, 2005), the catalogue for the exhibition on view October 7, 2005, to July 9, 2006, at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
• Chapter on fundraising for Fundamentals of Arts Management and a Fundraising Online Course offered through the Arts Extension Service of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, 1987 and revised 1994

Japan experience with Alice North:

• Created, produced, and coordinated the New York Japan Society/North Group tours to Japan focusing on contemporary Japanese ceramics in 1989, 1991, 1994, 1995, and 1999 and North Group tours in 2004, 2005, 2007, and 2009
• Lectured on contemporary Japanese ceramics at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, New York's Japan Society, New York University, Colorado's Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Boston's Nichols House Museum, Oregon's Portland Art Museum, Arizona's ASU Art Museum/Ceramics Research Center, and Hawaii's Maui Arts & Cultural Center
• Lectured on traveling in Japan at New York's Japan Society
• Co-curated Breaking from Tradition: Japanese Ceramics Today at Harvey / Meadows Gallery, Aspen, CO, August 2009
• Hosted groups from the Art Institute of Chicago; Brooklyn Museum; Honolulu Museum of Art; Japan Society Friends of the Gallery; James Renwick Alliance; Japanese Art Society of America; LA County Art Museum East Asian Art Council; MFA Boston Visiting Committee of the Department of Asia, Africa, & Oceania; MFA Boston Museum Council; Mint Museum of Craft+Design; Philadelphia Museum of Art; Portland Art Museum; and San Francisco Museum of Asian Art for tours of the Halsey and Alice North Collection of contemporary Japanese sculptural ceramics

Education:
MBA in performing arts management and a BA in economics
Attended the arts management program at Harvard University