BSO president Gail Samuel has hired Maureen Flores as Chief Development Officer and Asadour Santourian as Vice President of Tanglewood. Both jobs start immediately.
Flores is a fundraiser from Bentley University. Santurian is an artistfixer from Aspen.
BSO sorely lacks a concertmaster.
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It’s not a well oiled machine unless there are 2 suits for every musician.
First, I’m not sure on what basis you have concluded that the orchestra sorely lacks a concertmaster. In the performances reviewed since Malcolm Lowe’s retirement I don’t recall hearing or reading about a serious issue with the section or the orchestra. Second, first associate concertmaster Smirnova is regarded as an excellent musician who has occupied the chair on numerous occasions to wide acclaim locally. Third, auditions for a permanent replacement for are ongoing and aren’t being impeded by any administrative changes. Fourth, I’m not clear as to what an artistfixer is but you make it sound somewhat sordid and/or superfluous. Fifth, as with any well run organization I have every confidence that artistic and administrative issues can be addressed simultaneously. If you are aware of a problem(s) with the BSO why not let everyone know?
Cleveland orchestra lacks a concertmaster too. Both Cleveland and Boston held auditions a few months ago. Haven’t heard of any decisions or speculations.
No respectable major orchestra has fewer admin bods than players nowadays.
The exec team has nothing to do with the BSO’s concertmaster vacancy. The musical team’s inability to hold auditions during the time of COVID has a lot more to do with it.
The BSO does NOT sorely lack a concertmaster. Tamara Smirovna is both the acting and de fact concertmaster. I would imagine the words “de facto” will soon be removed. She’s a wonderful violinist and the BSO is known to generally prefer to hire from within.
Silverstein was hired for the back of the violin section with the EXPECTATION he’d replace Burgin on Burgin’s retirement. Malcolm Lowe was hired from without the same season he won a place in the NY Phil’s violin section.
Exactly. Smirnova is an excellent musician and I heard her first time with the BSO back in 2002.
Correction: They’re not swelling their team- they are restructuring. Once again, Norman’s headline is not accurate in the title. Also, Asadour has been the VP of Artistic Admin and Advisor for Aspen for over 15 years Good luck to them and lucky Boston!
When are American orchestras going to learn? They have become bloated bureaucracies that are filled with redundant positions whose occupants do not play, sing, or conduct a single note.
He is an extraordinarily nasty, obnoxious, and petty person in my experience. I witnessed him make very offensive remarks in Minnesota. I will refrain from repeating them. There must be a lack of competent artistic administrators in the USA.
I am surprised Assadour has not been canceled yet.
He WAS cancelled in Minnesota – it was just in the days before the term was used and before the wide use of internet to spread news/gossip.
And a wildly dishonest one at that. His career remains a mystery to many.
He is a master at hitching his wagon to rising stars – people who should know better.
The BSo lacks a lot of things: concertmaster is one of them, the other, I believe, is an ethical audition process.
I may be just an architect, but I am well aware of the tremendous time-wasting going ons in their auditions. They spend countless hours managing auditions only to ultimately choose no one; it’s a sad kind of distinction where each subsequent audition cycle for the same position entices a lower level player because, understandably: Why should anyone of the highest stature or skill waste their own time with an audition committee that think its got the keys to heaven? Like the princess who turns down every suitor because she can, only to end up middle-aged with only a satisfactory partner.
Now, how about Cleveland? They need a concertmaster too. Pittsburgh?
The concertmaster auditions took place in November. I wonder why a concertmaster hasn’t been named.
Here is an interesting link:
https://www.bso.org/about/staff-leadership
Er, quite a lot of people . . . (and that is without a plethora of advisors and trustees).
Well at least we aren’t reading about yet another DEI hire.
Don’t be sure. What is the assignment directive for the ‘Chief Development Officer’?
Paranoidally yours,
Pff
It’s a director of development whose ego wouldn’t accept a director title. Fundraising. Period. An absolute necessity for US nonprofits, but over-promoted.
“Development officer” is a U.S. term for fund raiser.
Asadour Santourian is a very complicated person who is one of the most gifted impresarios in the country. Curious to see how he does in Boston and hope he can indeed help find someone for the concertmaster role. He has connections with many of the country’s top young violinists, and it seems that’s important as today’s top players are increasingly steering away from orchestral careers.
His position will have nothing to do with finding a CM – that’s not how it works. (Complicated? Nice euphemism.)
[Redacted] I don’t think his current employer will miss him.
Sharon, we will publish your comment if you put a full name to it.
I don’t care about any of this, I just want the B.S.O. to someday finish recording Shostakovich symphonies with Andris Nelsons. I want that series in a box set.
They’re coming! The pandemic held them up because they’re the choral ones. Now that the Tanglewood Festival Chorus is back in action, Symphonies 2 and 3 are now “in the can” and 13 (Babi Yar) happens next May. Supposed to have done Lady Macbeth of Mtensk back in 2021 but that, too, was put on hold during Covid.
It reflects poorly on the BSO to hire Asadour.
Word is that Santourian is done already…