Santa Rosa Symphony head Alan Silow to retire next summer

Alan Silow, president and chief executive officer of the Santa Rosa Symphony for the past 20 years, announced this week he will retire next June, after his 21st season with the orchestra.

“It is with a bittersweet sense of gratitude that I announce my retirement from the Santa Rosa Symphony at the end of the 2022-2023 season,” he said in a statement.

“The (symphony) is solidly on the state and national orchestral map for organizational excellence — artistically, educationally and financially — which is what I set out to do when I took on administrative leadership,” Silow added.

He also currently sits on the boards of the Santa Rosa Metro Chamber of Commerce and Visit Santa Rosa to foster innovation and cooperation between the arts, the tourism industry and business.

“Artistically the orchestra is in great shape, led by our charismatic music director Francesco Lecce-Chong and a cadre of extraordinarily talented and committed musicians. During my tenure, we helped raise the funds that secured an extraordinary orchestral home at the Green Music Center,” Silow said.

A search committee will be formed to find and hire the next president and CEO by the beginning of the 2023-2024 season.

“During Alan’s 20-year tenure, the orchestra has seen a new level of artistic excellence and fiscal stability,” board chairman Corinne Byrd said in the symphony’s announcement. “He is one-in-a-million and will be missed beyond words. We wish him all the best in his retirement.”

You can reach Staff Writer Dan Taylor at dan.taylor@pressdemocrat.com or 707-521-5243. On Twitter @danarts.