“The New York Philharmonic’s president, Matthew VanBesien, announced on Tuesday that he would step down this spring,” reports Michael Cooper in Tuesday’s (1/24) New York Times. “Mr. VanBesien, 47, who has been with the Philharmonic for nearly five years, has said he will leave to become the president of the University Musical Society of the University of Michigan, a respected campus-affiliated arts presenter.… The Philharmonic’s “music director, Alan Gilbert, is stepping down at the end of this season. His successor, the Dutch maestro Jaap van Zweden, will become music director designate next season, but will not fully assume his new role until the 2018-19 season.… Members of the boards at both Lincoln Center and the Philharmonic said that the renovation project [for David Geffen Hall, the Philharmonic’s home] was proceeding … and disclosed for the first time that together the two organizations have now raised nearly $300 million.… Under Mr. VanBesien and Mr. Gilbert, the orchestra expanded its programming and reached more single-ticket buyers with innovative events.… Mr. VanBesien expanded the orchestra’s horizons outside New York, establishing partnerships with cultural institutions in Shanghai, Santa Barbara, and Michigan, among others.”
Posted January 24, 2017
Photo of Matthew VanBesien by Karsten Moran / New York Times
