In Sunday’s (4/7) Sacramento Bee (California), Edward Ortiz writes, “A native New Yorker with extensive experience staging opera, symphonic music and other art forms has been picked to lead the soon-to-be-merged organizations of the Sacramento Philharmonic and Sacramento Opera. Robert Tannenbaum, 56, will begin his tenure as general director on July 1, when the merger becomes official. The two groups will operate independently under the umbrella name of the Sacramento Regional Performing Arts Alliance. … He inherits two companies that have seen plenty of financial struggles since the economic downturn in 2008. Both organizations were deeply affected by plunges in subscription ticket sales and corporate donations, which became a strong motivator for a merger. Those pressures led the 31-year-old Sacramento Opera to cancel most of its 2011-12 season and the Sacramento Philharmonic to threaten closure last year. Tannenbaum was recently picked by a unanimous vote of an eight-member selection committee with representatives from both the philharmonic and the opera. … It was Tannenbaum’s experience with the artistic as well as management side of the business that made him stand out among a short list of 12 candidates, said Michael Nelson, who is currently overseeing both organizations as board president as they head toward merger.”
Posted April 8, 2013
