Zoom Meeting - Michael Smith - ED Charleston Symphony

June 8 -- (Zoom) Michael Smith – Executive Director, Charleston Symphony. Michael was named as the Executive Director of the Symphony in November 2013. He had previously been 1st trumpet for the orchestra but he had to gave up that position to assume his new management role. Because he is a musician he cares deeply about the musicians and understands what they need which makes him a perfect liaison between the musicians and the Board. Prior to Michael coming on board as ED the symphony had to shut down for a while because of a funding dispute between the union and management. He has managed to get it into a much stronger financial position. His latest challenge was dealing with the loss of revenue caused by COVID. But the symphony survived and resumed full symphonic performance with live audiences in September 2020 -- much sooner than symphonies elsewhere in the country.

Required reading: https://www.postandcourier.com/cso-names-executive-director

https://charlestonsymphony.org/ 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-smith-55060258/ 

https://holycitysinner.com/2021/03/10/charleston-symphony-restructures-in-the-wake-of-covid-19/