DURHAM SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
GENERAL MANAGER JOB DESCRIPTION
The Durham Symphony Orchestra
The Durham Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is a leading performing arts organization in Durham and contributes actively to the rich cultural life of the city and the greater Triangle community. Durham is home to Duke University, North Carolina Central University, The American Dance Festival, Durham Performing Arts Cetner, Kidznotes, El Sistema USA, Full Frame Documentary Film Festival and the Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice, among many other arts and culture organizations.
The DSO was founded in 1976 by Vincent Simonetti, a tuba player with the NC Symphony, creating the Triangle’s first regional community orchestra. Alan Nielson took the baton a few years later, building the group into a semi-professional orchestra and expanding the season to offer 8-10 concerts per year. Today the orchestra is a professional group of fifty-five musicians. In 2009, William Henry Curry was named Music Director of the Symphony, becoming the first African American music director of a symphony in the South. Resident Conductor of the NC Symphony for 20 years, he has enriched the DSO mission with his exceptional experience in education, outreach, and diverse programming. He is well known and appreciated by audiences throughout the region.
The DSO performs affordably priced and free concerts in a wide variety of community spaces, including Durham’s landmark venues The Carolina Theatre and the Hayti Heritage Center. Concert programs range from Baroque to contemporary plus the best of Broadway, Jazz, and Hollywood. The DSO regularly programs works by Americans, composers of color, and women. Educational and mentorship programs are vital to its work. The DSO gave its first Rising Young Vocalists Award in 2019, in 2023 appointed its first Composer in Residence, and held its first Young Composers Competition. The DSO performs often with students including the Nativity School Choir, Kidznotes, The Art of Cool Project, and United Strings of Color. The DSO is committed to demonstrating, especially to young people, that the joy of orchestral music belongs to everyone as a natural part of robust community life. During the pandemic, the DSO released sixty-five video programs, Monday Musicales with the Maestro, through social media and 1,700 email subscribers.
The Opportunity
The Durham Symphony is debt free, has an endowment fund and is supported by a hard-working 10-member board of directors. It enjoys strong relations with elected city leaders, academic institutions, public schools, funding organizations, and the arts community. Like many organizations it was hard hit by the pandemic and is only now sufficiently resourced to fill the General Manager position that has been vacant since 2019. In the intervening years, the board has been responsible for all fund raising, marketing, communications, and scheduling while concert operations have been carried out by paid professional personnel and production managers.
The opportunities ahead for the General Manager include strengthening systems for internal and external communication, improving marketing and fundraising activity, supporting concert and board operations, representing the DSO to its current and future constituencies and generally upgrading the internal operations of the DSO.
Job Description
The General Manager is responsible for the administrative management of the DSO. The General Manager, in partnership with the Board, executes development, finance, communications, education, community engagement, concert production, and marketing in furtherance of the DSO mission and overall institutional health. The General Manager is responsible for maintaining a culture of respect, transparency, collaboration, and fairness.
- Key Roles and Relationships
Report directly the DSO Board of Directors through the board President
Supervise the personnel manager and the operations manager/librarian
Collaborate with the treasurer, Music Director, musicians, and Board - Concert Production
Create season schedule with MD and PM
Secure venues and negotiate venue and related production agreements
Negotiate artist contracts
Maintain communication among all parties - Marketing
Implement annual marketing plan
Ensure all sales activity is captured and reported accurately.
Ensure adequate front-of-house staffing and sales technology.
Communications
Implement annual communications plan to enhance DSO image, including season and individual concert announcements, media buys, and feature coverage opportunities
Manage and upgrade as appropriate the DSO website
Develop and oversee production of all print materials including concert programs - Finance
Collaborate with Treasurer in development of annual budgets
Maintain integrity and security of all digital systems.
Maintain transparency with all relevant stakeholders
Provide support for budgets and reports for funding proposals - Development
Partner with Board in creating and implementing development plans and strategies
Draft and execute all proposals, solicitations, acknowledgements, and reports in partnership with board.
Maintain necessary digital infrastructure to ensure clean records, analysis, and reporting.
(The DSO uses the Bloomerang platform for fundraising and communications.) - Governance
Support board administration, including scheduling meetings, creating agendas, meeting materials, minutes, and communications - Community Engagement and Education
Coordinate with all DSO partners in the execution of programs as required.
Qualifications and attributes
Qualified candidates will have minimally a bachelor’s degree and 2 years of related, applicable experience. Not-for-profit experience is preferred especially regarding fund raising and board relations. Skills in marketing, financial management, development, marketing/communications, community engagement, education and project management are essential. Demonstrated written skills are required. Computer skills in primary applications in both Windows and Google Drive environments are required. Desktop publishing skills are highly desirable. Meticulous attention to detail and ability to manage multiple concurrent tasks is required.
A passion for music and an appreciation of the many ways it can serve a community are expected from qualified candidates. Leadership qualities, i.e., the ability to guide and align constituents toward a compelling vision are essential. These skills include self-awareness, active listening, collaboration, respect for divergent perspectives, creativity, and imagination. Candidates should demonstrate a high value for inclusive practices in all dimensions of DSO activity and prioritize a culture of transparency, collaboration, and respect. Candidates should have the ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with volunteers and staff and to work flexible and changing schedules, including evenings and weekends.
Salary: $30,000; Hours: average 25 hours per week. The DSO does not offer health insurance.
Interested applicants should send a resume and cover letter to office@durhamsymphony.org.
The DSO complies with applicable Federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity).