Oregon’s Portland Columbia Symphony has appointed KEVIN IRVING as executive director, effective July 1, 2022. Irving succeeds Interim Executive Director Jane Kenworthy. Irving was most recently artistic director of Oregon Ballet Theatre, where he led the organization’s financial and artistic turnaround. Irving is a former modern dancer who moved into arts administration. He studied at the school of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in NYC, studied ballet in Canada, and danced for choreographer Twyla Tharp. Upon leaving the stage, Irving went to Madrid, Spain and became associate director of Spain’s national dance company under the direction of Nacho Duato, and then moved to Sweden to become an artistic director at the Gothenburg Opera House. Back in the U.S., Irving launched and ran a nonprofit that connected American teachers with Latin American dance communities, prior to becoming artistic director at Oregon Ballet Theatre in 2013. Steven Byess is music director of the Portland Columbia Symphony Orchestra, which performs in Portland and neighboring communities.
Change font size
