The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra has dipped into the media pool for a new leader. Sarah Lutman, senior vice president of content and media at Minnesota Public Radio/American Public Media, will take over the SPCO in December as president and general manager. She succeeds Bruce Coppock, who retired in July for health reasons after nine years at the helm.

Lutman was responsible for broadcast, digital and live-event programming for MPR's three outlets -- the news and classical stations and the Current. She also handled the portfolio at American Public Media, the largest classical-music broadcaster in the nation. She won two Peabody Awards and transferred the programs "Performance Today" and "SymphonyCast" to American Public Media.

"It's an organization that I have admired for many years," Lutman said Tuesday afternoon. "The SPCO has an international reputation, tours internationally, plays in New York. And it's an innovator in its field much the same way as American Public Media is."

The SPCO is about to embark on a tour of Scandinavia and is publishing a book about its 50th anniversary.

"Sarah brings strategic leadership skills, executive ability and a significant background in classical music," said Lowell Noteboom, chair of the SPCO's search committee.

Lutman also comes from a background in foundation work, as a senior program officer at the Bush Foundation in St. Paul and executive director at the Fleishhacker Foundation in San Francisco. Also, she trained in piano and bassoon. She played bassoon freelance in San Francisco in various ensembles. She said she's since sold the instrument but has a piano, "which I play every day."

At the SPCO, she takes over from the popular and effective Coppock, who announced in June that he would dedicate himself to recovering from a cancer diagnosed in 2006. Under his watch, the organization has experienced audience growth of 50 percent and raised its endowment to $40 million. The SPCO, which has an annual budget of $12 million, performs primarily at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in St. Paul.

Coppock pushed concerts in other locations, bringing the music to suburbs and exurban centers. It is the nation's only full-time, professional chamber orchestra, with 35 musicians who present more than 150 concerts and educational programs each year.

The group is also regularly heard on "Performance Today."

Graydon Royce • 612-673-7299