VETERAN ARTS EXEC STEPS UP
New La Jolla Music Society president/CEO has local ties, San Diego theater, opera and symphony experience
The La Jolla Music Society hardly needed to look beyond its own backyard to find Todd Schultz, who today is being named the 52year-old arts organization’s new president and CEO.
Schultz, 54, has spent the past year as the senior vice president of development for the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert. Before that, he was the San Diego Symphony’s vice president of institutional advancement from 2015 to 2019, the Old Globe’s director of development from 2004 to 2015, and San Diego Opera’s director of marketing and public relations from 1994 to 2000.
“I know what La Jolla Music Society has achieved and what its strengths are, and I’m very excited,” Schultz told the Union-Tribune. “The repertoire the society presents — be it classical, jazz, Broadway, dance, Latin music or any other genre — is open to anyone who responds to it, and our goal is to ensure that the society is a resource for everyone in the region.”
Schultz will begin his new job on Jan. 4 and has signed an initial three-year contract. His salary has not been disclosed.
He will be the fourth person to head the society since January 2018, following the sudden departures of his three immediate predecessors — one of whom bowed out before her tenure was set to begin.
“Todd has been on our horizon for a long, long time,” La Jolla Music Society Board Chair Steve Baum said.
“We looked at a variety of candidates at other arts organizations and selected Todd, who — fortunately — is able to come work for us. He loves music. He knows the arts in San Diego, he knows the community, and he has a house here. So, he doesn’t have what some candidates for the job would need, which is a need to learn about the community and the need to find a place to live. He can get going right away, and the board and staff are all very happy Todd is coming in.”
Baum’s enthusiasm is shared by Leah Rosenthal, the nonprofit society’s artistic director.
“I know a lot of people in the community and at the symphony who sing Todd’s praises, so I am really looking forward to working