After more than six years at the helm, Seattle Symphony and Benaroya Hall president and CEO Krishna Thiagarajan is resigning, the Symphony announced Friday.
Thiagarajan took the reins in September 2018 and has steered the organization through the pandemic and following recovery. In an interview Tuesday, Thiagarajan said he has been on sabbatical since early December and will remain so until his last day, April 30. The board of directors appointed Maria Yang, chief development and project officer, acting CEO while they launch an international search for a successor.
“We’ve basically finished what I would call the immediate rebuild post-COVID,” Thiagarajan said. Now, he said, it is time for a longer-term vision. “I think the Symphony and I were at a point where it became clear that a change might be good.”
“You give everything you’ve got to give in these moments during COVID,” he added, “… and then you have to try and find ways to replenish that energy, which is why I’m on a sabbatical.”
Representatives for the Symphony did not respond to questions about the reason for Thiagarajan’s departure. A news release stressed his accomplishments, including broadening and diversifying its programming, leading the organization through the pandemic and rebuilding audiences and financial stability.
While not back to prepandemic levels, audience numbers have seen year-over-year-growth, according to Christy Wood, vice president of marketing and communications at the Symphony. And in the fiscal year ending Aug. 31, contributed revenue, like donations and grants, was up 12% compared with fiscal year 2019; revenue from ticket sales was up 1%, according to Wood. For the current season in progress, earned revenue is up 8% year-to-date compared with last season, and ticket sale revenue is pacing even.
Thiagarajan also cited the recent appointment of Xian Zhang as the first woman, and first person of color to hold the music director position as a highlight of his time at the Symphony. Zhang will be leading the orchestra in March as music director designate. Her tenure as music director officially starts in September. “I really look forward to her concert when she comes back in March,” Thiagarajan said, “and I hope to be attending her concerts in the fall.”
Thiagarajan’s Symphony tenure was also rocky. In January 2022, Music Director Thomas Dausgaard abruptly stepped down midway through his third season. In a subsequent New York Times article, Dausgaard said he did not feel “safe,” accused the administration of intimidation and said that the organization was “ruled by fear” — allegations the Symphony denied. (Seattle Symphony music directors report to the board.)
Thiagarajan said he believes Dausgaard (whose representatives did not return requests for comment as of press time) had “no reason to feel unsafe either at the Symphony or in Seattle from anyone.”
With Thiagarajan’s departure, the Symphony once again enters uncertain terrain. After Dausgaard’s departure, the Symphony operated without a music director for more than two years.
There have been other changes at the top as well: The Symphony’s chief financial officer/chief operating officer, Cheronne Wong, and its vice president of human resources/chief diversity officer, Paul Johnson, are both currently on personal leave, but Wood said “they have not resigned nor has their employment with the Symphony changed.” (Wong did not reply to a request for comment, Johnson declined to comment.) Wood did not answer a question about whether there have been other departures from the organization.
Asked whether he would stay in Seattle and if he was taking a new job, Thiagarajan said that while a few things “are currently in development,” he couldn’t comment beyond that. He added he would continue to serve on the board of various local organizations, including Inspire Washington, a statewide cultural advocacy organization, and the Washington State Arts Commission. “My work isn’t really stopping,” he said, “… when it comes to the advocacy for the arts across the state and across the country.”
Information from The Seattle Times archive has been used in this report.
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