Symphony names Spivey its new CEO
Matthew Spivey has spent the past 14 months as interim CEO of the San Francisco Symphony. Now they’re making the appointment permanent.
The Symphony announced Wednesday that Spivey would take on the top executive leadership role effective immediately.
“Matt has impressed everyone with his thoughtful leadership, his great integrity and his incredible work ethic,” said Symphony President Priscilla Geeslin. “He’s been a steady presence as we navigated this tumultuous year.”
Spivey, 41, joined the Symphony staff in 2015 as chief programming officer, working with then-Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas to set repertoire, guest artists and overall artistic direction for the orchestra’s subscription schedule and other activities. When his predecessor, Mark C. Hanson, stepped down as CEO in July 2021, Spivey stepped in to lead the organization on an interim basis.
Evidently that was enough to persuade Spivey that he wanted to hold on to the job.
“I have to say that I have really enjoyed this past year, for multiple reasons,” Spivey told The Chronicle. “I feel like I know and understand the San Francisco Symphony better, but I also feel I know and understand myself better. The opportunity to engage in this work has really clicked for me a lot more than I ever thought it would.”
The Symphony is the second major arts organization in San Francisco this year to promote an interim leader to permanent status. In March, Danielle St.Germain became executive director of the San Francisco Ballet after first serving on an interim basis.
The new season, led by Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen, gets underway with the opening night gala on Friday, Sept. 23, featuring a collaboration with the African-American Shakespeare
“He’s a leader who appreciates the history of our art form and wants to be part of its future.” Esa-Pekka Salonen, music director of San Francisco Symphony, on Matthew Spivey
Company in a performance of music by Mendelssohn for “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Looking ahead to the coming years, Spivey, who attended the New England Conservatory in Boston, immediately focused on the opportunities to expand the orchestral repertoire.
“One of the things I really appreciate about this orchestra is the history of continually evolving the art form — not only playing great music really well, but constantly exploring to see what else is out there and to understand it,” he said. “And I appreciate just how far back that legacy goes.
“Ever since I was studying as a clarinetist at the conservatory, I loved the instrument and I loved the music. But I always got frustrated practicing the same orchestral excerpts over and over again.”
In a statement to The Chronicle, Salonen praised Spivey’s artistic commitment.
“Matt Spivey is in it for the music — it’s as simple as that,” he wrote. “He’s a leader who appreciates the history of our art form and wants to be part of its future.”
But the orchestra also faces serious financial and organizational challenges as it emerges from the shutdown prompted by the COVID-19 pan demic. For Spivey, that means shoring up the strength of the institution so it can realize its artistic goals.
“It’s going to be important that we have a solid and stable foundation. Because there are some creative ideas coming out of the Collaborative Partners, and we want to make sure that the platform that they’re building on is strong,” he said.
Spivey noted that the orchestra had embarked on a series of long-term planning initiatives in recent months, but he declined to provide details. He added that he sees the orchestra going in a “healthy direction,” yet also acknowledged that time may be short.
“A lot of what we want to do is experimental in nature. It’s a discovery process, in which you try things out, see what works and constantly evolve,” he said. “I think the challenge will be whether we can push these evolutions rapidly enough to arrive at the place where I know we can be, and where the organization really thrives.”
Before coming to San Francisco, Spivey was vice president and general manager of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Prior to that, he held posts with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.
He earned an MBA from the University of Texas at Arlington.
Spivey lives in Lafayette with his wife and three teenage children.
“The commute, honestly, is the perfect distance for me,” he said. “It’s a time where I do a lot of listening and just thinking. If I didn’t have that, I actually think my job would be harder.”