Schwarz has been the music director of the Seattle Symphony since 1985 and music director of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic since 2001. He was the music director of the Mostly Mozart festival in New York from 1982 through 2001, and led the New York Chamber Symphony, which he founded, from 1976 through 2002.

Teachout writes arts criticism in a number of genres. He is the drama critic for the Wall Street Journal, the music critic for Commentary, and a regular contributor to the Washington Post. He recently published All in the Dances: A Brief Life of George Balanchine and was a contributor for The Oxford Companion to Jazz. He maintains a popular arts weblog, called About Last Night, on the web site artsjournal.com.

Ballinger is the director of the Phoenix Art Museum.

NEA chairman Dana Gioia said in a statement that the three new members "are distinguished leaders in their respective fields. They are ideal additions to the National Council on the Arts. I couldn't be more pleased with these confirmations.

The 20-member NCA, which includes six non-voting members of Congress, in addition to its advisory capacity, makes recommendations for the National Medal of Arts. Current members include opera singer Mary Costa, musician and composer James McBride, choreographer Cleo Parker Robinson, and music educator Dr. Karen Lias Wolff.