The Boston Symphony Orchestra has named LA Philharmonic CEO Chad Smith as its next leader. This fall, Smith will take over as President and CEO following the resignation of Gail Samuel at the end of 2022. Samuel also joined the BSO from the LA Philharmonic, where she served as COO before her short tenure as the BSO’s first female head beginning in June 2021. After four years as CEO in LA, Smith’s new role will see him managing the BSO, the Boston Pops, and Tanglewood – the iconic Lenox, Massachusetts concert venue. Smith tells WAMC he has his own history with the region.
SMITH: Tanglewood and the Berkshires is a very special place to me. I was a student there for two summers, back in the 90s when I was studying at New England Conservatory and at Tufts, so I have such deep affection for that place.
WAMC: So, tell us about your professional credentials- Obviously, you've come a long way since being a student at Tanglewood, Chad. How did you get here?
Sure. So, when I was studying in Boston, I was finishing my master's, and I was very lucky. I met an early mentor, Michael Tilson Thomas, the great American conductor. And I was contemplating my future at that point about whether I wanted to stay in performance or whether, based upon my love for the orchestral tradition, whether I would want to move into orchestra administration. And I met Michael, and he invited me to work for him at an orchestra in Miami called the New World Symphony. And that was really, for me, the beginning of my real learning curve, but also my career in orchestra management. A few years after that, I moved out to Los Angeles to do programming for the New Music Series in LA, and also do the programming for the classical concerts of the Hollywood Bowl. And really, for the next 21 years, almost exclusively made the Los Angeles Philharmonic, my home orchestra. In so many ways I grew up in that orchestra. I had five positions with the LA Phil, including for the last four years being CEO. But you know, at a certain point, I also knew that it was important for me that I needed my next chapter and my next challenge. And when the opportunity came up to really kind of come back home to the northeast and to this incredibly storied orchestra, I found it an absolutely compelling proposition. And I'm delighted that after many, many conversations to be at this place today.
Talk to me about the world of classical music. Where do you see it in 2023?
Well, the world of classical music, like the rest of our world, is going through a seismic change. I think coming out of the pandemic and the discussions around racial equity in the post-George Floyd environment have really forced all organizations to take a deep and important look at their values and the work that they want to do. And the BSO is absolutely having those same kinds of discussions and really thinking about its future. So, I think that it's a period of great transition. I think it's also a period where we have the unique opportunity to transform our audiences to be much more expansive, to be much more inclusive, much wider, a group of people who will be enjoying our work, but it's also a time when the business model for orchestras is facing some headwinds. So, this is a period where major arts and cultural organizations, orchestras included, are having to have really serious conversations about the work that they do and how they want to do that work going forward.
When you look at the BSO today, what are some directions you want to explore at its head?
Well, the first thing that I'm looking forward to with the Boston Symphony is getting to know the orchestra. And I think any important moves have to come from a period of listening to the constituents who support and love this institution in a fundamental way. But absolutely, the work of a cultural organization today is that it must engage with and lead discussions connected to the contemporary world. And as orchestras, we have this dual responsibility, right? We are responsible in preserving this incredible legacy of music that goes back 400 years, but we also have to support the artists and the music makers who are telling today's stories. So, as I think about the work of the Boston Symphony going forward, it is doing that. It is supporting emerging artists, supporting the most compelling composers and music makers, while at the same time ensuring that the canon is continually enlivened.
