In Sunday’s (4/22) Peoria Journal Star (Illinois), Gary Panetta writes, “When you think of a symphony orchestra, you usually think about the woman or man in the podium, waving a stick around, attempting to coax and inspire 90-plus musicians to put their heart and soul into Beethoven, Mozart and Mahler. But you seldom think of another person with a much less glamorous job who seldom appears on stage: the orchestra’s executive director. … Susan Hoffman, the Peoria Symphony Orchestra’s new executive director, has her hands full. An executive director—especially an executive director at a small symphony like the Peoria Symphony—is responsible for a little bit of everything. She’s networking with donors and getting to know potential new donors because local generosity and business support (not tax money) is the major source of funding for the symphony. She’s overseeing publicity efforts and making sure the symphony is presenting its best face to the community. … ‘We have a history of 114 years of symphonic music in Peoria,’ Hoffman said. ‘What that says is that this community is committed to having music be part of the community—that there are people who believe in the value of the orchestra to the quality of life here. We see a history of positive support for us moving forward.’ ”
Posted April 23, 2012
