In Sunday’s (9/26) Los Angeles Times, Reed Johnson writes, “It was a brisk summer’s night at the Hollywood Bowl, and Deborah Borda was in whirlwind mode: Talking shop with musicians backstage. Greeting familiar faces in the crowd. Energetically parsing the dramatic mood swings in Beethoven’s ‘Eroica’ symphony. … You won’t find Borda’s name on the Bowl’s Art Deco welcome sign. You won’t see her image emblazoned like a rock god on banners across the city. But many believe that the petite 61-year-old with the brassy New York-Boston accent is a big reason why the Phil is thriving … Ticket sales for all the classical music programs that the Phil produces average 95% of available capacity at the 2,265-seat Walt Disney Concert Hall, compared with an average 63% capacity at its former home, the 3,200-seat Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, during the 1999-2000 season. (Borda officially took over the Phil on Jan. 1, 2000.) … Frank Gehry, architect of Disney Hall, echoed others in suggesting that what’s most distinctive about Borda’s leadership style is her willingness to embrace calculated risk as a creative strategy and treat innovation as an imperative.”
Posted September 27, 2010
