Colbert Artists Management Hires New Vice President 

Artist manager and booking agent, Katie Backus, assumed the role in November 2024

New York City’s Colbert Artists Management has welcomed Katie Backus to the role of Vice President. She succeeds Martha Bonta, who held the role from 2020, and is now serving as the agency’s Senior Advisor.  

In the previous two years, Backus was Vice President and then Senior Vice President of the Concert Artists Guild, a nonprofit that helps launch the careers of emerging classical musicians. From 2013 to 2022, she served as a booking agent with the MKI Artists Management Agency based in Burlington, Vermont. 

A graduate of the University of Rhode Island, Backus earned a degree in Music Teacher Education in 2005, specializing in string instruments. Also a violinist and violist, she has taught at public, Montessori, and community music schools. 

In her new role, Backus will join the Colbert Artists team including President and CEO Lee Prinz, Artist Manager and Booking Representative Michelle Zarco, and Senior Booking Representative and Tour Manager Amy Carson-Dwyer. 

Founded in 1948, Colbert Artists currently represents conductor Ken-David Masur, violinists Anne Akiko Meyers, Anthony Marwood, and Alina Ibragimova; cellists Steven Isserlis and Zuill Bailey; plus the Juilliard and JACK String Quartets.