Melbourne shakes out board, calls in ex-BBC boss
OrchestrasThe deeply troubled Melbourne Symphony has called in consultants KPMG to see what went wrong. The chairman and three other board members will step down.
Richard Wigley, former head of the BBC Philharmonic, has been appointed CEO. He was lately acting as interim.
Wigley’s CV: Born in New Zealand, Richard studied at the New England Conservatory of Music in the United States before embarking on a professional career playing the bassoon for the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester in the United Kingdom. At Hallé he was appointed the Orchestra’s Education Director and then Head of Artistic Planning, leading to management roles at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra and overall leadership as General Manager of the BBC Philharmonic. Most recently he was Managing Director for the Ulster Orchestra in Northern Ireland and Interim CEO of the Dunard Centre, a premier concert hall being built in Edinburgh, Scotland.
photo from 2016
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Didn’t Trevor Green, another former BBC Philharmonic CEO, also make the move to Australia and eventually run the Melbourne Symphony? These were good years for the orchestra, i believe.
They were. He was a good man.
Good gracious – they have appointed a real musician as CEO! Let’s wish them well! CBSO, take note…
MSO really are a great orchestra who have endured so much. Let’s hope with Richard in charge, a refreshed Board, a strong replacement for the soon-to-depart Director of Programming, and their supportive audience, they can bounce back quickly.