Chad Smith, the newly appointed president and CEO of the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO), is setting a course for innovation and enhanced audience engagement. In his 10th month, Smith is focused on sustaining and enhancing the core mission of the orchestra and its summer home.
A Multifaceted Approach
Smith views the BSO as the central point of the organization, which also encompasses the Boston Pops, a presenting organization for Popular Artists, and a massive educational institution. During a conversation on the Tanglewood campus, Smith emphasized his intent to reimagine the standard repertoire, broaden the BSO’s horizons with contemporary music, and maintain the increased presence of the Boston Pops, in collaboration with Music Director Andris Nelsons.
Honoring the Past, Embracing the Future
Smith is keen to turn aside any notions that Boston’s orchestra founded in 1881 has lacked innovation. He noted that four years later, the Boston Pops was founded “to connect with contemporary and popular culture, when no orchestra in the world did that.” In 1937, BSO Conductor Serge Koussevitzky created a summer home for the orchestra along with an institute for advanced young musicians.
Other innovations include the appointment of John Williams as Boston Pops conductor from 1980 to 1993 and the opening of the $35 million Linde Center for Music and Learning in 2019. “Every generation has innovated at this orchestra in a way that is profound,” Smith said.
Tufts and New England Conservatory dual degree alum Chad Smith was appointed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra as their newest CEO in May 2023. “The joint program between NEC and Tufts was the most perfect combination.” Smith said. The dual degree education continues to influence how Smith leads orchestras. It was through the New England Conservatory that he first became involved in arts administration.
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An invitation from his close friend and fellow New England Conservatory student performing at a dinner party introduced Smith to administrators of the Boston Symphony, who would go on to teach him the inner workings of arts institutions.
Specific Goals and Initiatives
On the Importance of the Humanities | BSO’s Chad Smith
Smith has several specific goals to enhance the BSO and Tanglewood experience:
- Renovating the Theatre Concert Hall: To accommodate staged opera and restoring Seranak for visiting artists, audiences, and students. He emphasized the Theatre Concert Hall project as “something that has to happen".
- Widening the Definition of Classical Music: Including living composers, with Carlos Simon as the orchestra’s first composer chair. An expansion of the Festival of Contemporary Music is being planned.
- Collaborating with Other Arts Groups: Such as the Boston Ballet.
- Expanding the Popular Artists Series: Building on successful shows like Brandi Carlile's.
- Maintaining the Increased Presence of the Boston Pops: At Tanglewood, with a record nine performances this summer.
Addressing Challenges and Building Audiences
Smith acknowledged a 23 percent decrease in attendance at BSO orchestral concerts in Boston and Tanglewood compared to 2019. He aims for a healthier era by attracting new audiences through a broadly diverse repertoire. "I’m aiming for a much healthier era, with a broadly diverse repertoire attracting new audiences experiencing the art form for the first time through different pathways,” Smith said.
The key question as he sees it: “Who’s the audience for each program? I don’t believe that there’s one audience or even five audiences for classical music; I believe there are dozens, and for us to rebuild our audiences and refill our hall, we have to be thoughtful about all of it, and the same thing out here at Tanglewood.”
Solutions include progress toward achieving year-round programming by local and outside organizations at the Tanglewood Learning Institute in the Linde Center that opened five years ago.
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“I fundamentally believe that through the study of the humanities … we understand ourselves, our community and our world better. That, for me, has always been the reason that arts and culture have been the defining markers of eras. They tell the story of an era, not from an intellectual standpoint, but from what people are feeling,” Smith said.
“What I’ve carried through with me over the last 25 years is this fundamental belief that a broader and a deeper understanding of the humanities is critical to our artform’s expansion. It is not enough to have a passive experience as an audience member. One practical way Smith will achieve this is through creating the Boston Symphony Orchestra Humanities Institute. Using the assets that the Boston Symphony Orchestra already owns - including one of the best concert halls in the world and a campus dedicated to music and learning in Tanglewood - Smith aims to bring back aspects of its remarkable history.
The Future of Classical Music
“As artistic leaders and administrators, we have to adapt to the world we’re living in instead of holding on to some vision of what it was," he said. "That’s the change we’re talking about. There’s nothing radical and no silver bullet. We have to continue to innovate in thoughtful ways, some are bigger, some are riskier, and some are just tweaks.”
“What great orchestras do is to inspire and connect with audiences, and we’re here to be of service to our community,” Smith stressed.
Competing for the attention of modern audiences in 2024, however, is challenging for a symphony or any fine arts institution. “As I will say over and over, the headwinds against classical music and performing arts generally, are significant,” Smith conceded.
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“However, classical music offers a counterpoint to so many of the modern experiences that people invest their limited time and dollars in, which is that it is a space for reflection. … It is two hours of being with yourself and a cohort of two thousand people who are sharing that moment together and very often in silence.
“Our artform is incredibly fleeting. You can’t hold it, you can’t buy it.
“I remember being a young person coming to concerts. It always felt weird that there weren’t many young people there like me. So, how do we create cohorts? I think that’s through targeted student programs so that there are college nights where there is a cohort of young people,” Smith said. “There are certain things we can program that will target younger audiences while still absolutely being serious repertoire.
“We have to be both the Museum of Modern Art and the Gardener and the MFA,” Smith said. “We have to be, in many ways, a humanities program at a university, and an educational institution that is thinking about introducing our music and our art form to kids early in their academic life.
Leadership Team
The Boston Symphony Orchestra is supported by a dedicated team of professionals:
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| President and Chief Executive Officer | Chad Smith |
| Executive Assistant to the President & CEO | Gaia Liotta |
| Chief Development Officer | Lauren Budding |
| William I. Bernell Vice President, Artistic Planning | Anthony Fogg |
| Director of the Tanglewood Music Center | Edward Gazouleas |
| Helaine B. Allen Vice President, Education and External Engagement | Josué González |
| Senior Vice President of Operations | P. Eric Krauss |
| Thomas G. Stemberg Vice President, Marketing, Sales, and Communications | Jesse Needleman |
| General Manager | Tyler Rand |
| Jane B. and Robert J. Mayer M.D., Chief Financial Officer | Sok Cheng Soh |
| Chief Human Resources and Equity Officer | Sandra St Fleur Wright |
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