“Robert Massey, who during six and a half years as executive director turned the struggling Cedar Rapids Symphony Orchestra into the successful Orchestra Iowa, has been named the new president and chief executive officer of the Jacksonville Symphony Association,” writes Charlie Patton in Thursday’s (12/11) Florida Times Union (Jacksonville). “Massey’s appointment to replace David Pierson, who is retiring, comes about six months after the announcement that Courtney Lewis will be the symphony’s new music director…. ‘We share a vision for the future of the Jacksonville Symphony, and I’m excited about working together to achieve it,’ Lewis said.” While Massey was executive director of Orchestra Iowa, that ensemble “grew from an organization struggling to balance a $1.5 million budget to one comfortably operating on a $3.5 million budget. ‘Robert’s experience with audience expansion and community engagement makes him the perfect choice for taking the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra to new heights in North Florida,’ said Martin F. Connor, III, chairman of the Jacksonville Symphony Association. … Massey, a trumpet player who has performed with the Memphis Symphony, holds a bachelor’s degree in music from the New England Conservatory and previously served on the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s development staff. He begins in his Jacksonville position on January 2.”
Posted December 12, 2014
