Boston Symphony Orchestra Appoints New President and CEO

Leading orchestral music executive Chad Smith will assume the role, effective in early Fall 2023

Following a search process that began in January 2023, the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) has selected Chad Smith as its new President and CEO. For the last four years, Smith has served as CEO of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

The Search Committee members comprised seven BSO Trustees, Provost of the Curtis Institute of Music, and Interim Director of the Tanglewood Music Center, with consultation from BSO orchestra members and staff. 

Until Smith officially begins his tenure, Jeffrey D. Dunn will continue to serve as interim CEO following the resignation of his predecessor, Gail Samuel.

In his new role, Smith, 51, will manage the BSO under the guidance of music director Andris Nelsons, the Boston Pops under the direction of Keith Lockhart, and the Tanglewood program, where Smith was once a student for two summers.

Additionally, he will maintain the BSO’s international reputation, establish programming initiatives for renewed arts appreciation among audiences, and broaden community and civic engagement. 

Smith and Nelsons’ artistic team also comprises BSO Music Director Laureate Seiji Ozawa, Boston Pops Conductor Laureate John Williams, and James Burton, BSO Choral Director and Tanglewood Festival Chorus conductor.

“Chad is an extraordinarily accomplished executive with a track record of unrivaled success at producing environments where orchestras thrive, audiences experience orchestral music in both traditional and non-traditional ways, and one-of-a-kind partnerships flourish,” said John Loder, BSO’s Board of Trustees Vice Chair and Search Committee Chair.

“A tested leader with deep experience in all aspects of orchestral administration, and a conservatory-trained classical musician, Chad possesses a singular ability to balance new programming initiatives with the critical preservation of artistic tradition at the highest level,” Loder added. “The BSO has a long history of setting standards for the entire orchestral field, and Chad brings to the BSO a demonstrated commitment to sustaining excellence and increasing impact.”

Smith’s professional career began in 2000 with Michael Tilson Thomas at the New World Symphony — a post-graduate training ensemble. This appointment marks Smith’s return to Boston, where he studied vocal performance at the New England Conservatory (NEC) and European history at Tufts University.

As an orchestral administrator, he served as New York Philharmonic’s head artistic planner and as artistic director for the 2020 Ojai Music Festival.

Additionally, he worked for almost 20 years at the Los Angeles Philharmonic in various roles, including COO in 2015, before becoming CEO in 2019. With LA Phil, he managed an operating budget exceeding $150 million and worked closely with its music and artistic director Gustavo Dudamel.

Smith is an NEC trustee, an advisory board member of the Music Academy of the West, and a member of the executive committee for the Avery Fisher Artist Program. 

“I see endless opportunity to support and grow those things which make the BSO so very special, impactful in Boston, and revered around the world,” Smith said. “Undoubtedly, the Orchestra thrives at the center of it all – a cultural jewel for the city, as well as the arts community locally and beyond…I look forward to partnering with [Nelsons], the brilliant players, the dedicated staff, and the Board of Trustees to keep building on one of the most storied legacies in music. I am deeply grateful to the Board of Trustees for entrusting me with this tremendous honor.”

“All of us at the Boston Symphony Orchestra—musicians, staff, and board of trustees and advisors—warmly welcome Chad Smith to the BSO family this fall as President and CEO,” said Nelsons. “We look forward to partnering with Chad to move the organization into a bright and promising future, where we will continue to treasure our rich legacy of achievement while embracing our mission to grow and evolve for our communities here in Boston, the Berkshires, and throughout the world.”