Jean Davidson has been named executive director of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. Photo by Anthony Mongiello.
“The National Symphony Orchestra announced Wednesday the appointment of Jean Davidson as its new executive director,” writes Michael Andor Brodeur Wednesday’s (1/11) Washington Post. “Davidson will begin her tenure April 1, succeeding Gary Ginstling, who left in October to become the executive director of the New York Philharmonic. Davidson, 54, is president and chief executive of the Los Angeles Master Chorale, the largest professional chorus in the country.” The National Symphony Orchestra is part of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. “Davidson has a long history in nonprofit music organizations … She was [Yo-Yo Ma’s] tour lighting designer when he offered the role of founding managing director of the then-fledgling Silk Road Project ... In 2011, Davidson became chief executive of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, overseeing its merger with Dance Theatre Workshop into … New York Live Arts, where she was CEO until 2015. [At] Los Angeles Master Chorale … Davidson led an institutional rebrand and doubled the chorale’s budget … When Davidson arrives in April, she’ll hit the ground running as the NSO gears up for its 2023-24 season.”
