Robert McGrath, newly appointed president and CEO of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Photo by Claudia Hershner.
The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra has named Robert McGrath as president and CEO, effective February 17, 2025. McGrath succeeds Jonathan Martin, who announced his retirement at the end of November 2024. McGrath is a 27-year veteran of the orchestra field, including nine years as vice president and general manager and four years as chief operating officer at the CSO. He will lead the CSO and will also serve as president of the CSO’s subsidiary, Music and Event Management, Inc., and as president of CSO’s partner organization, the Cincinnati May Festival, with soprano Renée Fleming as festival director. McGrath is currently leading CSO management in the implementation of a strategic plan that establishes concert innovation, learning, and diversity, equity, and inclusion as core focus areas. Under McGrath’s leadership, the Nouveau program, designed to nurture student musicians from backgrounds underrepresented in orchestral music, has expanded. McGrath is a graduate of the New England Conservatory with a Bachelor of Music in bassoon performance and an alumnus of the League of American Orchestras’ Management Fellowship Program. Previously, he held senior positions with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, and Chicago’s Music of the Baroque. He began his career in fundraising with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
