Senior Vice President and General Manager, Omaha Symphony

The Omaha Symphony welcomes nominations and applications for the position of Senior Vice President and General Manager, available in the Spring of 2021.

The Orchestra
www.omahasymphony.org

Celebrating its 100th anniversary season in 2020/21, the Omaha Symphony is committed to excellence, innovative programming, education, and collaboration.  The Orchestra serves more than 120,000 people annually through mainstage concerts, music education programs, and community engagement initiatives.  The Omaha Symphony’s greatest resource is its 70 professional musicians, which includes a 42-member core. 

In 2005, the Omaha Symphony began performing in Omaha’s state-of-the-art Holland Performing Arts Center in the acoustically superior 2,000-seat Peter Kiewit Concert Hall concert hall.  Under the leadership of Thomas Wilkins, who was appointed music director in 2005, the Symphony has undergone a period of dramatic artistic growth and is well-positioned as a leader within the city of Omaha’s own expanding vision for its cultural life and reputation.

Each year the Symphony provides more than 50 culturally enriching and entertaining live orchestral performances in six distinct mainstage concert series: MasterWorks, Pops, Rocks, Movies, Family, and Chamber.  The Omaha Symphony’s vibrant Susan Morris Adventures in Music education series encompasses seven core programs and annually serves nearly 25,000 pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade students, educators, and administrators from more than 300 schools.  The programs are interactive, adhere to Nebraska Standards for Education, and are built upon one another so that students have the opportunity to participate from preschool through high school for a continuous learning experience.  In addition, the Omaha Symphony provides responsive and accessible arts opportunities to the community at large through a Community Engagement Program that creates music experiences beyond the concert hall.   

Omaha enjoys exceptionally strong support of the performing arts.  The community ranks well above the national average in individual net worth, has a history of major community foundation activity, and is home to five Fortune 500 companies.  As the city of Omaha experiences expansion through new construction and downtown revitalization, the Omaha Symphony seeks to be an institution that contributes significantly to Omaha’s national reputation for culture and quality of life.

Thomas Wilkins will conclude his distinguished 15-year tenure with the 20/21 season.  Ankush Kumar Bahl will become Music Director in July 2021.  Jennifer Boomgaarden has served as President and CEO since 2018.

The Position  

Working closely with the President and CEO and the Music Director, the Senior Vice President and General Manager influences and oversees the implementation of the long-range artistic vision and artistic policies of the Omaha Symphony.  The SVP/GM provides leadership and strategic direction to the teams who manage the artistic, education, community engagement, production, and orchestra operations functions of the Orchestra as they collectively work to invigorate the art form and concert experience, broaden and deepen community relationships, embrace social consciousness, and achieve fiscal and organizational strength.

In collaboration with the Leadership Team, the Senior Vice President and General Manager is the principal driver for all season program content, including the structure and programming for subscription concerts, education programs, and all major projects such as festivals, semi-staged and multi-media productions, and artistic collaborations with community partners.   The SVP/GM is responsible and accountable for the ensuring that the programs of the Omaha Symphony reflect the highest possible artistic quality and production values, align with the organization’s strategic imperatives, and are managed efficiently within budgetary guidelines.  

The Senior Vice President and General Manager drives the execution of key organizational initiatives ensuring that the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion are reflected in all aspects of planning, programming, and execution.  They develop and strengthen programs that engage the broader community and build audiences for all Omaha Symphony concerts.   They establish clear, challenging performance goals and metrics for each season and manage team performance to deliver results that exceed expectations.  

The Senior Vice President and General Manager reports to the President and CEO and manages the Vice President of Artistic Administration, the Director of Orchestra Operations, and the Director of Education and Community.  They, together with the Chief Revenue Officer, the Director of Marketing, and the Director of Development, form the Omaha Symphony’s Leadership team.  The SVP/GM is one of the Orchestra’s primary liaisons to the community and is a visible spokesperson for the Orchestra throughout greater Omaha.