After a $ 550 million refurbishment this fall, the reopening of David Geffen Hall will transform the New York Philharmonic’s home. In the not too distant future, the orchestra will also have a new music director in place of the departing conductor.
On Friday, the orchestra announced another change. Gary Ginstring, Managing Director of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, will replace Deborah Borda, a respected and dynamic figure in the Philharmonic, as President and Chief Executive Officer next year.
This appointment marks the beginning of a new era of Philharmonic, America’s oldest symphony orchestra, working to attract a new audience as it recovers from the coronavirus pandemic turmoil. The orchestra seems to have survived the worst crisis, but the pandemic has brought new urgency to questions about changing audience habits and expanding into the digital realm.
Ginsling, who will join Philharmonic as Executive Director this fall before taking over Bolda next year, said he would like to gain momentum for the renovation of Geffen Hall.
“This is the only moment the orchestra is getting out of a very difficult time,” he said in an interview. “This new home will truly transform musicians, the general public, orchestras everywhere, and the city. The Philharmonic Orchestra will make the most of this moment and prepare for long-term success. I have a chance. “
This appointment means a generational change in Philharmonic. Ginstring, 56, takes the reins from Bolda, 72, who led Philharmonic in the 1990s and returned in 2017, to direct the long-delayed renovation of Geffen Hall. The return of Bolda, one of the country’s most successful art managers, who helped transform the Los Angeles Philharmonic into one of the country’s finest ensembles — move to a new home, stabilize volatile finances, and Gustavo Dudamel. Was appointed as music director — at the time was considered an orchestra coup suffering from deficits and funding issues.
Mr. Bolda said he felt it was time to leave as the hall reopened after a prolonged pandemic and the orchestra had a stronger financial base. She will resign on June 30, 2023, but will serve as an advisor to the Ginsling and Philharmonic Board of Directors to assist in financing and other issues.
“We in my generation have done our best, but it’s time to really support and introduce the new generation of leadership that brings new ideas to everything,” she said in an interview. “This was the right time.”
Bolda began working with the board last year to find a successor. They were looking for a leader who could help guide the institution during a critical transition. After interviewing five candidates, Philharmonic in May provided work to Ginstring, who has managed orchestras in Cleveland, Indianapolis, and Washington, DC.
“I have experience, but the longer the runway, the younger I wanted,” Peter W. May, co-chair of the Philharmonic Board of Directors, said in an interview. “He was also impressed with the way outreach in the community.”
After joining the National Symphony Orchestra in 2017, Ginstring experimented with new ways to reach the audience, including holding concerts in a 6,000-seat arena designed for rock music. He was praised for helping promote ticket sales, subscriptions and donations. He worked closely with National Symphony Orchestra music director Gianandrea Noseda, whose contract was recently extended from 2026 to the end of the 2027 season.
In New York, Ginstling faces familiar challenges. Even before the pandemic, managing the orchestra was difficult. Labor costs are rising. Ticket sales declined as the older models of season subscription sales disappeared. Strong funding has become essential as donations have become an increasingly large proportion of the orchestra’s budget.
The pandemic has brought new tensions to Philharmonic, which was forced to cancel the 2020-21 season, dismissed staff and reduced musicians’ salaries by 25%. (Philharmonic announced this week that it will soon cancel those reductions.)
Due to all its devastation, the pandemic also provided an opportunity to allow the orchestra to shorten the refurbishment schedule by a year and a half (the hall is currently scheduled to open on October 7th). For the past year, the orchestra has no permanent home and has moved between several different theaters. Many were smaller than Geffen.
Clarinist Ginsling, a graduate of Anderson School of Business at Yale University, The Juilliard School, and the University of California, Los Angeles, continues his efforts with the Philharmonic Orchestra to present a diverse roster of composers and conductors. Said.
“If we’re in the post-covid world and we’re not sure if that’s the case, the biggest challenge is to find ways to rebuild our audience and connect with the community in a variety of new ways,” he said. ..
The Philharmonic Orchestra has just begun searching for a conductor to replace Jaap van Zweden, the maestro since 2018. He announced in September that he would resign at the end of the 2023-24 season. Conductors such as Dudamel, Susanna Mälkki and Santtu-Matias Rouvali are nominated, although the field remains open.
It is unclear if the investigation will be completed before the end of Boulder’s tenure. She said she was “moving forward with all her might” and she would continue to provide advice as needed.
Van Zweden, who said in a statement last year that he would leave the orchestra to rethink his life and priorities by a pandemic, praised Bolda’s management of the orchestra.
“The future and security of this orchestra is very important to me and I am grateful to Deborah for guiding me from a powerful position,” he said. “We welcome Gary and I’m really looking forward to working with him.”
This appointment is like a homecoming for the Juilliard-trained pianist and Ginstring, who grew up in New Jersey, the son of a tax lawyer. His parents subscribed to the Philharmonic Concert, and he attended concerts featuring giants like Leonard Bernstein and Zubin Mehta. He started playing the clarinet in elementary school and later studied under a Philharmonic player.
“I have had a deep love and passion for orchestra and orchestra music for a long time, and it really started with the New York Philharmonic,” he said.
