In Monday’s (8/17) Philadelphia Inquirer, Christopher K. Hepp writes, “Catherine M. Cahill grew up a lover of music, but merely playing the cello wasn’t enough. Only pulling the strings behind the scenes would do. A peripatetic career that led her to the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Grant Park Music Festival in Chicago, Toronto Symphony, New York Philharmonic, and, most recently, Brooklyn Philharmonic (to be president and chief executive officer) has landed Cahill, 52, in Philadelphia as president and chief executive of the Mann Center for the Performing Arts.” About the economy, Cahill says, “It’s probably one of the hardest seasons I have ever experienced in my professional life. I am not alone. The decline in corporate support has been significant in this town and others.” Of the unique issues that come from managing an outdoor venue, Cahill comments, “One of the challenges in this job—a little bit different than working with an orchestra in the hall—is weather. We have had one of the wettest Junes in decades. And so there has absolutely been an impact on box office without question. … In our budgeting this year we’ve put in contingency budgets so if it rains, we have a cushion up to a certain level."
Photo credit: J. Henry Fair
Posted August 17, 2009
