In Tuesday’s (12/17) U-T San Diego, James Chute reports, “Edward ‘Ward’ Gill, the architect of the San Diego Symphony’s success over the past decade, will be leaving the orchestra when his contract expires at the end of September 2014. ‘I’ve really completed what I consider the 10-year-plan I set up when I first got here,’ said Gill, the orchestra’s chief executive officer.… Previously vice president and chief operating officer of the Minnesota Orchestra, Gill took over the [San Diego] symphony’s executive leadership in October 2003, soon after Joan and Irwin Jacobs gave the orchestra $120 million in grants and bequests and conductor Jahja Ling was hired as music director.… Up until the Jacobs’ gift and Gill’s arrival, the orchestra had a history of recurring administrative and financial problems that resulted in issues with its musicians union, and the institution filing for liquidation bankruptcy in the ’90s. Under Gill’s leadership, the organization successfully negotiated multiyear contracts with the musicians and balanced its budget every season. The musicians and staff were informed of Gill’s plans Monday, and the symphony board has already formed a search committee.”
Posted December 18, 2013
