Veteran orchestra executive Brent Assink has been named interim president and CEO of the Minnesota Orchestra. Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Orchestra.
In Tuesday’s (8/27) Twin Cities Pioneer Press (Minnesota), Ross Raihala writes, “The Minnesota Orchestra has named Brent Assink, former executive director of the San Francisco Symphony and prior president of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, to serve as its interim president and CEO. Assink will take over from Michelle Miller Burns, who has led the orchestra since 2018 and departs in mid-September for the top administrative role with the Dallas Symphony. Based in Pasadena, Assink will split his time between Minnesota and California and will begin his new role on Sept. 9…. Said Minnesota Orchestra board chair Nancy Lindahl in a news release, ‘Having such a respected and experienced hand on the wheel during this time of transition will serve the Minnesota Orchestra well.’ A native of Washington, Brent Assink served as executive director of the San Francisco Symphony for 18 years … during which time the symphony significantly grew its artistic profile and community engagement… He oversaw the largest endowment fundraising campaign in the symphony’s history. Assink also spent five years in the late ’90s as president of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, during which time he restored the orchestra to stability after a fiscal crisis, launched new education and community programs.”
