The announcement last week that Anne Ewers was leaving her position as CEO of Utah Symphony & Opera took a lot of people by surprise — including me.
Not that I for a minute thought Ewers would stay here indefinitely. I always believed she would leave at some point after the symphony/opera merger was on solid ground if she was offered the right job. And the right job turns out to be the same position with the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia.
Heading up the Kimmel Center is a huge step up for Ewers, who arrived in Utah 16 years ago to become the general director of Utah Opera after founder Glade Peterson's death. Kimmel was the proverbial offer that couldn't be refused.
The center owns and manages the most important venues in Philadelphia, including the Verizon Center. In addition, it oversees eight performing-arts organizations, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, the Opera Company of Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Ballet, among others.
Ewers, who comes from an opera background, will be able to have her hand in all the performing arts.
Heading a united opera/symphony organization, which is unique in the world of performing arts (there are still only a handful of combined organizations in the country), undoubtedly played a part in her being chosen for the Kimmel job.
Also, and perhaps more important, Ewers' fund-raising skills were cited by Kimmel chairman William P. Hankowsky, as a major factor in her favor. But in Philadelphia, Ewers will have her work cut out for her. Her fund-raising talents will be severely put to the test.
The Kimmel Center opened in December 2001 and is currently operating to the tune of nearly $30 million in the red, left over from its construction. That's a far cry from US&O's $1.8 million deficit of three years ago. (US&O is now over $300,000 in the black.)
To turn things around, the Kimmel Center board has been trying to raise $100 million in some form of combined debt reduction and endowment.
It's going to take all of Ewers' skills to be actively involved in bringing the center into the black while not compromising the high artistic standards of the center, which brings in all the top performers in classical music, jazz and pop, and also Broadway shows.
It's an unenviable position, and how Ewers tackles the problems that will face her when she takes over as president and CEO of the center on July 9 will be telling. Kimmel isn't a small organization like US&O, but a world-class operation. I wish her well.
Here in Salt Lake City, Ewers' departure will affect US&O immensely, partly because it comes so close after Keith Lockhart's decision to step down as the Utah Symphony's music director at the end of the 2008-09 season.
Within two years, two of the key people behind the merger of the Utah Symphony and Utah Opera in July 2002 — the two who molded and guided the fledging organization — will be gone.
This puts US&O in a situation it hasn't had to face yet — bringing in a new management chief and a new artistic head within a relatively short time. These vacancies open the door to new creative directions and will determine and shape the future of both the symphony and the opera. This is crucial for US&O at this juncture in its existence.
The search committee for a new CEO will be headed by board member Raymond J. Dardano, and it will have to find someone who has a thorough knowledge of the industry, and who is willing to bring bold ideas and a visionary presence to the organization. It needs to find someone who isn't afraid to try new things and who will be able to win the respect of the musicians, the board and the community.
It won't be easy, but in order for US&O to grow and thrive, it is vital.
And that is exactly what the search committee for a new music director must do as well. The 12-member committee, which consists of musicians, board members and community leaders, must find a conductor who will add to the symphony's current repertoire and consequently expand the orchestra's artistic horizons. The symphony needs someone with a vision, who will present programs that are musically interesting, stimulating, challenging and of intrinsic value.
As with the search for a new boss, this won't be easy, but there is plenty of time to make a careful search and find the best candidate for the job.
Finding a new CEO is more pressing, however, since the board would like to have someone in place by the start of the new season on Sept. 14. While that time frame is important, the committee shouldn't keep an eye on the calendar. After all, it took the Kimmel Center 10 months to find a replacement for its outgoing CEO.
It's going to be difficult to replace Ewers but not impossible if it's done thoroughly.
I am confident that as long as the search committee keeps in mind that the future of two of Utah's most important performing-arts organizations is at stake, it will rise to the challenge, do its job and make the right decision.
E-mail: ereichel@desnews.com