- Finnish conductor Klaus Mäkelä has been named the next Music Director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Mäkelä, who becomes the orchestra’s eleventh Music Director, will serve as Zell Music Director Designate, before beginning an initial five-year contract as Zell Music Director at the start of the 2027-28 season. This coincides with his inauguration as Chief Conductor of the Royal Concergebouw Orchestra.
- Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO) has announced that its President and CEO Jonathan Martin plans to retire in February 2025 after seven years with the organisation. CSO Chief Operating Officer Robert McGrath, who has worked with the orchestra for 13 years, will assume the position of Acting President and CEO, working closely with Martin to ensure a smooth transition in leadership.
- Adam Gatehouse will be stepping down as Artistic Director of The Leeds International Piano Competition in Spring 2025. Gatehouse joined “The Leeds” in 2015, succeeding the late Dame Fanny Waterman, the competition’s Founder.
- The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association has appointed Mitch Bassion as its Chief Philanthropy Officer, with effect from February 2025. Bassion, who is currently the Chief Philanthropy Officer at The Philadelphia Orchestra and Kimmel Center, succeeds Margie Kim, who is retiring after five successful years with the LA Phil.
- New Jersey Symphony has appointed Terry D. Loftis as its new President and CEO from March 2025. Loftis, who is a Tony nominated Broadway producer and currently Chief Advancement and Revenue Officer of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, will take over from New Jersey Symphony Board Co-Chair and Interim President & CEO Craig Silliman.
- Matías Tarnopolsky, currently President and CEO of The Philadelphia Orchestra and Ensemble Arts, will become the New York Philharmonic‘s next President and CEO on 1 January 2025. The appointment marks a homecoming for Tarnopolsky, who previously served as the Philharmonic’s Vice President of Artistic Planning from 2005 to 2009, and positions him to work alongside incoming Music Director Gustavo Dudamel, who takes the helm in September 2026.
- The Royal College of Music has appointed Andrew Moore as its new Artistic Director. Moore, whose career includes roles with Edinburgh International Festival and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, will begin his tenure in Spring 2025.
- Dame Shirley Bassey has been appointed President of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD) for a three-year term. The announcement comes as the organisation concludes its 75th anniversary celebrations. She succeeds
HM King Charles, who held the position while Prince of Wales. - Adam Hickox has been announced as Chief Conductor of Trondheim Symphony Orchestra & Opera (TSO) from the beginning of the 2025-26 season. Hickox takes over from Han-na Chang,
who was the first woman to hold this position with the orchestra.
