“Scratch all that about Gary Hanson retiring,” writes Zachary Lewis in Friday’s (12/11) Plain Dealer (Cleveland). “The moment in January when Hanson steps down as executive director of the Cleveland Orchestra, he’ll … step up as interim president of the nearby Cleveland Institute of Music…. ‘My goal [in retirement] is to continue to serve the community in different ways, and this fits right in with that desire of mine,’ Hanson said, noting the admiration he cultivated for CIM over the course of 28 years at Severance Hall. ‘There’s certainly plenty of overlap between the two institutions.’… While unexpected, Hanson’s appointment at CIM, where many orchestra members serve on the faculty, is far from surprising…. In a written statement Friday, Richard Hipple, chair of CIM’s board of trustees, praised Hanson’s track record, saying that he saw ‘superior administrative skills’ in the ‘extraordinary growth experienced by [the orchestra] in its audience, global presence and community engagement.’ ” As interim president of CIM, Hanson will succeed Joel Smirnoff, “who recently stated plans to retire this month.” CIM is “expected to launch a formal, full-scale search” for a permanent president in January.
Posted December 16, 2015
