In Sunday’s (3/27) Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock), Rachel O’Neal Chaney profiles Arkansas Symphony Orchestra Executive Director Christina Littlejohn. A classically trained cellist, she arrived as head of the Arkansas orchestra in 2009, following appointments at the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra in New Orleans, Alabama’s Mobile Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, and Florida’s Pensacola Symphony Orchestra. “ ‘Her enthusiasm and her optimism and her love of classical music are contagious,’ says Mike Mayton, an ex-officio member of the Arkansas Symphony board of directors and member of the National Symphony Orchestra board. ‘She has a wonderful appreciation of music combined with a good business head.’ … But it is not all rosy. Over the last two years, Littlejohn has had to cut $400,000 from the symphony’s budget, including 10 percent salary cuts. She has lowered ticket prices and made Sunday performance free for children with a paying adult. … In response, ticket sales are improving … This year, the symphony is poised to break all-time attendance records.” In 2001, Littlejohn won the Helen M. Thompson Award from the League of American Orchestras, given every other year to an outstanding early-career executive director. A subscription is required to view the full article at the link above.
Posted March 29, 2011
