Simon Woods, president and CEO of the League of American Orchestras.
On Monday (11/20), the Wallace Foundation posted an interview with Simon Woods, president and CEO of the League of American Orchestras. “Some good news from America’s orchestras: last season’s ticket sales increased after an uneasy fall start, signaling a positive shift in audience return…. We asked Simon Woods, president and CEO of the League of American Orchestras, for his take on the challenges and shifts happening in the industry…. Woods: ‘Orchestras are facing financial challenges from many directions … Orchestras are pretty creative and resilient. Despite their often-stretched financial models, they continue to look for new ways around the challenges and provide inspirational experiences to so many people while supporting dozens of creative professionals in their communities…. Orchestras have changed and adapted their programming in recent years. We’ve seen more diversity in programming in the last few years than we did in the previous decade…. We have been through a period of generational change in leadership at orchestras of all sizes, bringing a refreshed interest in looking at things differently. It shows up in programming, in the very serious discussions happening across the field about race, and in experimenting with new ideas that engage communities and audiences. And the truth is that American orchestras have artistically never been better.’ ”
