Fred Bronstein (Bio)
Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra President and Executive Director
president@slso.org

From the President

March 2008

To Our Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra Friends:

I’d like to begin by saying how excited I am to have joined the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra family.  The SLSO is a great orchestra, with a great history and to this day it holds a very important place in the music world.  Having come through some very difficult challenges in the last decade, the time is exactly right for a new beginning. 

Because I know you care deeply about your symphony, I want to take the opportunity with this space to share our thoughts and our plans with you on a regular basis.   This month I’d like to share some thoughts about what we will be focusing on and how we will be moving forward into the future.   

NEW PLAN

We are about to embark on developing a long-term strategic vision and plan.  Six years ago, a business plan helped save the SLSO.  The time is now right to develop an institutional plan, a real “roadmap” that charts our future and addresses every aspect of the SLSO going forward.

This plan will be comprehensive, encompassing our vision, values, and big goals.  It will be supported by specific initiatives around artistic growth, programming, audience development, community ownership, reputation and branding, long-term annual revenue growth and financial stability -- all part of the roadmap required to realize our vision; along with benchmarks that measure progress and the resources required to ensure success.

This process will be a dynamic and engaging effort.  In fact, we hope to engage you, our patrons, in this effort.  The result will be a flexible, living plan that will guide the SLSO over the next decade of its development, and impact it long into the future. 

NEW AUDIENCES

We’re thinking about this issue from all perspectives.  I look forward to working with our great music director, David Robertson, and a talented artistic staff led by Peter Czornyj on broad, diverse programming that will make the SLSO and Powell Hall a destination location for all kinds of music with the SLSO at the core of its activities. 

As a musical destination, there already is much to be excited about.  Our 2008-2009 season features blockbuster favorites like Beethoven’s 9th; the Verdi Requiem and Rachmaninoff’s third piano concerto.  And for those with a taste for the new and unusual, there are premiers by Mackey and Saariaho, a wonderful guitar festival and a special dance program with Hubbard Dance Chicago, as well as special presentations like The Lord of the Rings Symphony and The Wizard of Oz, with live orchestral accompaniment.  And there’s more to come as we make new plans for the future.  Stay tuned. 

WRAP UP

A few days after I accepted this exciting new position, I heard an interesting interview with the CEO of Campbell Soup.  When asked why he took the job, he said, “Well, that’s easy.  It’s because Campbell Soup represents a great brand and a great franchise.” 

The Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra is a great brand, a great franchise.  Even as I write, we are reinventing an orchestra that has a deep tradition and represents a great musical brand and franchise, making it more relevant than ever to more people out in the community, while making Powell Symphony Hall the place to be for audiences who want a variety of outstanding musical entertainment and experiences.  The SLSO is a great enterprise with a great product.  Now we need to maximize its impact and make it more relevant to more people in our city.

One of the things I love most about this job is meeting our patrons.  As such, I hope you’ll introduce yourself to me at our concerts; tell me what you like about the SLSO and what you think we can do better.  Send me your thoughts (president@slso.org) and check this page often for updates.  I want to hear from you, and I look forward to seeing you at the Hall in the months and years ahead.

Sincerely,

Fred Bronstein