Jones joined the LBSO as a consultant in 2009 and was hired full time as executive director in 2010. Drawing on his extensive experience in orchestra management, he has led the board and staff in eliminating accumulated deficits and alleviating its cash-flow crisis while working to instill confidence and build community support for the Orchestra, according to the press release, which also states that “Jones has worked tirelessly to raise funds for the LBSO along with successfully negotiating the musicians’ union contract and reorganizing LBSO’s business operations to work more efficiently and effectively.”
During Jones’s tenure, the organization has battled the challenges facing many arts organizations brought on by the nation’s and the region’s recession. LBSO has survived the crisis.
“I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to work with such talented and passionate people along with a tremendously supportive community,” Jones said. “My wife Susan and I have maintained our residence in Maryland, and we each have professional opportunities and family ties calling us home. We have two sons and a granddaughter back there. In addition to accepting some recent consulting offers, Susan and I will be joining a growing arts management firm, Chesapeake International Artists.”
“I am proud to be leaving LBSO on a positive track,” added Jones. “It’s time to plan the 2013-14 season so it makes sense for the person who will preside over it to lead that process and to take the organization to the next level.”
John DiCarlo, the Long Beach Symphony Association Board president, said the organization was very fortunate to have had Jones during such a difficult time in 2009 and restore the organization from its dire financial and operational situation. “We are financially stable and artistically thriving and have a bright future,” DiCarlo said. “LBSO’s mission of enriching the community by providing high-quality traditional and contemporary symphonic music and life-shaping educational experiences has certainly been advanced during Bob’s tenure. We are deeply appreciative of Bob’s contributions and the sacrifice he made to stay on the west coast for the past several years. He will be dearly missed.”
In the interim, Steven Bronfenbrenner, a consultant who has been working with the LBSO for the past year, will step in as the acting executive director. He will assist the Board of Directors in a nationwide search for Jones’s successor.
Source: LBSO
