“The task in front of Deborah Borda, president and CEO of the New York Philharmonic, is sustaining an almost 177-year-old institution as a thriving, twenty-first-century entity,” writes Fred Cohn in the January issue of Opera News. “If anyone has the moxie to push the Philharmonic forward, it’s Borda. She came to the position in 2017 after seventeen years at the helm of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.… This is Borda’s second stint with her New York band; she had been the Philharmonic’s executive director for nine seasons before decamping to Los Angeles…. The 2018–19 season … ends with three ‘Music of Conscience’ programs, focusing on political engagement in music…. ‘I believe that if you tell an intellectual, cultural and emotional story, it will bring new people to concerts,’ [says Borda]…. Borda [has] raised $50 million toward getting the Philharmonic’s house in order [and has cancelled] a planned $500-million gut renovation of Geffen Hall … Instead, the orchestra and its partner, Lincoln Center, will make ‘incremental’ changes…. A key task on Borda’s agenda is establishing a sense of social commitment for her organization. In this, she is following a widespread trend among performing-arts institutions. ‘We don’t exist in a vacuum,’ Borda says.”
Posted January 9, 2019
In photo: Deborah Borda at David Geffen Hall, home of the New York Philharmonic. Photo by Dario Acosta for Opera News
