The Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra, a critically-acclaimed chamber orchestra that has performed well-known classical repertoire and hosted world-class soloists since 1978, has named a new, full-time executive director, following a nationwide executive search led by Arts Consulting Group Inc.
Kevin Marvin joins the Chamber Orchestra as executive director next month, according to Maryellen Gleason, interim executive director of the Chamber Orchestra and ACG consultant.
Previously the executive director and past board chair of the Rocky Mountain Arts Association in Denver, Colo., Marvin has more than two decades of executive and senior management experience in banking and nonprofit board and organization management.
“I am thrilled to become a part of the Santa Barbara arts community,” Marvin said. “The Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra does a wonderful job combining a tradition of excellence with new and innovative ideas, like the tango gala event and Brandenburg marathon concert, and I am excited to join and grow that vision.”
Hiring a new executive director is part of a broader three-year restructuring program by the Board of Directors to rebuild and strengthen the organization. The executive director Search Committee was chaired by Pete Favero, according to Joe Campanelli, chair of the SBCO board of directors.
“Kevin is enthusiastic and passionate about music,” Campanelli said. “He will provide a steady base and help establish a firm administrative foundation so that we can ensure future generations will be able to enjoy the superb and energetic classical concerts of the Chamber Orchestra.”
Marvin earned his bachelor of arts degree in organizational communication with an emphasis in public relations and marketing from the University of Northern Colorado. He is completing his master’s degree in nonprofit management from Regis University.
“We are honored to have worked with the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra at such a strategic time for the organization — both providing interim management services with Maryellen Gleason as interim executive director and leading the executive search,” said Bruce Thibodeau, president of ACG. “We thank the SBCO board, particularly chair Joe Campanelli and the Search Committee, for their active participation in this executive search process. Everyone at ACG appreciates the exceptional dedication of the SBCO family as it celebrates its 34-year history with an eye to the future.”
The 2014-15 concert season starts with a tango-themed gala event titled “Tapas and Tango” on Saturday, Nov. 1 at the Lobero Theatre presented by Chaucer’s Books and featuring professional tango dancers from ABC’s Dancing with the Stars. The concert, sponsored by the Walter J. & Holly O. Thompson Foundation, starts at 7:30 p.m. and will feature Antonio Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and Astor Piazzolla’s Four Seasons of Buenos Aires.
For more information, call the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra at 805.966.2441 or click here.
— Jennifer Goddard Combs is a publicist representing the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra.