“Minnesota Orchestra’s next president and CEO is an Iowa native with a collaborative style,” writes Jenna Ross in Tuesday’s (4/17) Star Tribune (Minneapolis). “Michelle Miller Burns, chief operating officer for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, will lead the state’s largest performing arts organization starting Sept. 1, the orchestra announced Tuesday. Members of the search committee that unanimously picked Burns described her as a star executive with a style similar to Kevin Smith, the orchestra’s outgoing CEO.” Currently the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s executive vice president for institutional advancement and chief operating officer, Burns also previously served as the Dallas Symphony’s interim president and CEO. “She [played violin] as a member of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, studied with members of the Chicago Symphony. Education: B.A. in arts administration from Northwestern University, Chicago Management Institute program at the University of Chicago.… During her eight months at the helm [of the Dallas Symphony], the orchestra finished the 2016-17 season with a balanced budget, ‘achieved an aggressive annual fund goal and ratified a new three-year contract with the orchestra’s musicians,’ according to the Dallas Morning News. She has held key fundraising positions with the Chicago Symphony, where her administrative career began, and the Newberry Library.” Burns’ initial contract with the Minnesota Orchestra is for five years.
Posted April 18, 2018
