Minnesota Orchestra CEO to retire next year
Minnesota Orchestra President and CEO Kevin Smith, who is credited with rebuilding the organization after a 16-month labor dispute, will retire at the end of his contract next year. Smith made the announcement at the orchestra's annual meeting Tuesday in Minneapolis.
Smith said his stay with the orchestra had lasted longer than he expected.
"I came here originally for six months, and that has extended to something a little over four years," he said. "And things have worked out very well, and I feel really great about where the orchestra's at."
Smith said he came out of retirement to take the job, and with the organization doing well, it's time for him to re-retire.
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"I think we're in a terrific position to attract top-quality candidates for this position," he said. "And we really quite frankly weren't in such a great position back in 2014. But now we're going strong, we just had a Grammy nomination yesterday on top of it all, so I'm ready to get back to the garden, the grandkids and all that kind of stuff."
The Grammy nomination was for the orchestra's recording of Mahler's Fifth Symphony.
The orchestra also reported a balanced budget on expenses of close to $32.5 million. Ticket sales were strong at 87 percent of total capacity.
A search committee has already formed to seek a replacement.