On April 12, PBS talk show host Tavis Smiley interviewed Deborah Borda, the Los Angeles Philharmonic president and CEO who in September will become president and CEO of the New York Philharmonic. Borda has been at the LA Phil since 2000, having previously served in the same capacity at the New York Philharmonic during the 1990s. Smiley: “Deborah Borda … after nearly two decades, has stepped down to become president and CEO of the New York Philharmonic in September. Should I just get down on my knees and [say] ‘Don’t go!’? ” Borda: “I’ve loved it here. It’s been just the greatest professional 17 years of my life.… So it’s time to return home to my family and to help one of the great orchestras beside the Los Angeles Philharmonic…. It’s interesting because the New York Philharmonic is 175 years old. It is the oldest orchestra in America…. What I want to be able to be a part of is in working with the musicians and the board and the community, to not be weighed down by that legacy, but to use it, to move to a vibrant, youthful 21st century future.”
Posted April 20, 2017
