James Patrick Hayes, the Washington, D.C. cultural impressario, “has been for a quarter of a century a kind of one-man cultural center,” commented the Washington Post in 1968. Hayes, whose original name was James Kearney, was the son of an actor, Pat Kearney. Born in New York City, he grew up in Massachusetts and attended Harvard College.
Hayes was a field representative for the NBC Artists Bureau in New York City from 1938 to 1941. In 1941 he became manager of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington. After a thirty months leave for service in the Navy, Hayes continued with the National Symphony until 1947, when he founded the Hayes Concert Bureau.
The Bureau intended to present new as well as recognized talent; among the artists presented by Hayes were Emil Gilels, the first Soviet artist to appear in Washington, and Leontyne Price and Rudolph Serkin, who made their first Washington appearances under his sponsorship.
In 1965 Hayes founded the Washington Performing Arts Society, a non-profit organization which presents recitals and concerts in the capital city. He serves as president of this organization and as director of its “Concerts in the Schools” program.
Hayes has been active in many organizations concerned with cultural affairs. He was a founder and first president of the International Association of Concert Managers. In 1961 he was asked to serve as a member of the Advisory Committee on the Arts for the National Cultural Center. He has appeared before many Congressional committees to speak in behalf of cultural programs.
He has been particularly involved in the cultural life of Washington. In the early 1950's he began a series of Sunday radio broadcasts on WGMS, People and Events in the World of Music, in which he commented on various matters of timely interest in the musical world. He is former vice-chairman of the Cultural Development Committee of the Washington Board of Trade, and past president of the Greater Washington Music Committee. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Washington Drama Society (Arena Stage), of WETA-TV (a Washington educational television station), and of the Washington Ballet Guild. He has been appointed by the Washington mayor to serve on the Commission on the Arts for the District of Columbia. As the Post stated, he “has enriched the life of this community beyond any calculation.”
Hayes is married to the former Evelyn Swarthout, a pianist who has appeared at Town Hall and as soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra. She is a professor of music at the American University. They live in Washington, D.C.
