Cal arts program chief is leaving
Matías Tarnopolsky, the visionary arts impresario who has guided Cal Performances through a diverse schedule of music, dance, theater and spoken-word presentations, has been named president and CEO of the Philadelphia Orchestra, beginning in August.
Tarnopolsky, 48, has been director of Cal Performances, the presenting organization affiliated with UC Berkeley, since 2009, when he succeeded longtime director Robert Cole. During that time, he has created a multidisciplinary program titled Berkeley Radical with an emphasis on education and community outreach, brought some of the world’s leading orchestras to Berkeley for weekend-long residencies, and played a role in several prominent commissions.
“The more I learned about the Philadelphia Orchestra and its music director, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and the community, the more I felt what an incredible opportunity this is,” Tarnoposky said in a brief phone interview.
“This is an organization that is poised to embrace the future,
and I’m very excited to have the chance to help author the next chapter in its history.”
Although the offerings at Cal Performances include a range of performing arts, Tarnopolsky has never concealed or downplayed the fact that classical music — and the orchestral world above all — is his primary area of interest and expertise.
Born in Buenos Aires and raised in London, he studied music at the University of London, King’s College, and after moving to the U.S. in 1999, held artistic planning posts with the Chicago Symphony and the New York Philharmonic.
In recent years, he is rumored to have been in contention for several top orchestral jobs before landing the post in Philadelphia.
“I’m genuinely happy to go back to working with an orchestra,” he said. “But the range of artists I’ve worked with at Cal Performances has helped put the symphonic world in context for me.”
Tarnopolsky has agreed to a fiveyear term with the orchestra, succeeding Allison Vulgamore, who stepped down in December after eight years at the orchestra’s helm. The orchestra is currently led by two interim co-presidents, Ryan Fleur and Matthew Loden.