Kevin Smith will become interim president and CEO of the Minnesota Orchestra in September. Smith, who retired as the chief executive at Minnesota Opera in 2011, will succeed Michael Henson. He will continue until a permanent replacement is found.
Smith led the opera for 25 years and expanded the company's season to five productions, from three. He will start work in July, working with Henson on the transition. The search for a permanent replacement for Henson could take up to six months. Smith said he doesn't expect to be a candidate.
The orchestra also announced Thursday the appointment of Dianne Brennan as vice president of advancement, beginning in June. Brennan was the chief fundraiser for the Guthrie Theater from 1997 to 2013. She was a key figure in the theater's capital campaign to fund construction of its new building, which opened in 2006.
Gordon Sprenger, the orchestra's board chair, said he was pleased to welcome "experienced alumni of other Twin Cities' performing-arts organizations to the orchestra."
Graydon Royce
