Seattle Symphony Announces New Executive Director, Simon Woods

Change is afoot at Seattle Symphony. The Board of Directors has just named Simon Woods the symphony’s new executive director, and he will begin his new duties in May of 2011, getting the jump on Ludovic Morlot, who officially becomes the orchestra’s Music Director for the 2011–12 season.

“The Seattle Symphony is a great orchestra, based in one of the finest modern concert halls in the world, in a vibrant and beautiful city,” says Woods in the Symphony’s release. “The organization is highly energized right now as it celebrates the incredible legacy of Gerard Schwarz and prepares for a new era under its much-admired new music director. It’s a privilege to join the team at this tremendous moment. In particular, I look forward to being part of the special relationship that Seattle Symphony has with the people of this great city, and finding new ways to inspire as many people as possible, from all ages and all backgrounds, with the Symphony’s world-class music-making.”

Woods is most recently the chief executive of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, but has plenty of experience this side of the pond; from 1997 to 2004, he worked his way up to vice president of artistic planning and operations at The Philadelphia Orchestra, and was for a year president and CEO of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. For over a decade, he was also a producer at EMI Classics, making him a good fit with the much-recorded SSO.

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After only a year at RSNO, he was lauded as “the man who orchestrated a revolution.” The RSNO says that, “Over the past five years average audiences have grown by a third and subscription levels are at their highest level for a generation.” His music degree is from the University of Cambridge, England, and he also holds a graduate degree in conducting from the Guildhall School of Music in London. The Board, departing Music Director Gerard Schwarz, and the Players’ Organization are united in their praise for the incoming Woods. That in itself is something of an accomplishment.

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Previous British leadership at Seattle Symphony, for Anglophiles keeping score, was when Sir Thomas Beecham took up the music director position in 1941, for two and half seasons.