San Diego Symphony Announces Appointment of Laura Reynolds Vice President of Impact and Innovation

San Diego Symphony Announces

Appointment of
LAURA REYNOLDS
Vice President of Impact and Innovation

This newly formed position will provide vision, strategy, and leadership for all social impact, learning, community engagement, and cultural partnerships

SAN DIEGO, CA (March 4, 2022) – Today, the San Diego Symphony announces a new senior management position and the appointment of Laura Reynolds as Vice President of Impact and Innovation. Reynolds, who comes to the San Diego Symphony from the Boise Philharmonic, where she has led as Executive Director since 2020, brings a wealth of unique orchestral leadership experience, educational insight and musical savvy. She will officially join the San Diego Symphony administrative team on May 16, 2022.

In this newly formed position at the San Diego Symphony, the Vice President of Impact and Innovation, working with other members of the Senior Leadership Team will provide vision, strategy and leadership for social impact, learning and community partnerships supporting San Diego Symphony’s overall mission and external relations goals. Additionally, this position will lead a dynamic team of learning and engagement professionals who are collaborative, innovative and outcome-oriented. Serving as a creative thought partner with the CEO, the Chief of Staff, and Music Director, the VP will design programming that advances the San Diego Symphony’s role as a leader in music education, a creator of innovative community programming, , and a hub for local community activity. Building on the success of the opening of Rady Shell at Jacobs Park, the VP will develop a long-term strategy for park activation through community engagement and partnerships, alongside other creative place-making efforts to spark cultural activity.

“We are so excited to welcome Laura Reynolds to San Diego" said CEO Martha Gilmer. “Her curiosity and drive stems from a passion to engage and inspire a love and knowledge of music and its transformative power to change lives. In our many conversations, I have been inspired by the thoughtful work she has done to inform herself and develop new paradigms for engagement, her interests in addressing global issues, such as climate change, and her appetite for exploring the opportunities made possible through digital platforms.  As a border city, we have a commitment to engage with the incredible diversity of our region. Laura's experience and knowledge will be invaluable in our work to ensure that the San Diego Symphony is a part of the fabric of this community.”

Currently, Laura Reynolds is the Executive Director of the Boise Philharmonic (Boise Phil). Upon her arrival in Boise in March 2020, she led the Boise Phil through the coronavirus pandemic, preserved employment for all employees and musicians, oversaw the launch of their new Digital Stage with 27 recorded performances, provided free educator videos supporting classroom teachers across Southern Idaho and profoundly increased community engagement involvement for the organization. In the 21-22 season, the organization successfully expanded programming to include both digital and live concert events for the professional orchestra, youth orchestra and master chorale.

Prior to joining the Boise Phil, Laura was Vice President of Education & Community Engagement at the Seattle Symphony. In Seattle, she oversaw all programming for families, schools, communities and Young Artists, and created and launched “Simple Gifts”, an organization-wide homelessness initiative. Beginning in 2015, she led the redesign for Benaroya Hall’s newest venue, Octave 9: Raisbeck Music Center, which explored the intersections between music, learning and technology.

Laura Reynolds said “The San Diego Symphony has been a leader in building creative partnerships that make the city and surrounding region such an incredible place to live, work and play. I am thrilled to be joining a team that is so forward-looking and can’t wait to spark even more exciting partnerships and programming that bring people together through music.” 

Originally from Los Angeles, Laura graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Music in French Horn Performance from the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music and was the recipient of the 2010 Pepsi Co. Diversity Fellowship, Dean’s Award, and Leadership Award from Stanford Graduate School of Business’ Summer Institute for General Management. She also is a current member of the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the Recording Academy and serves on the boards of WindSync and the Tombolo Institute of Design Thinking at Bellevue College.

ABOUT THE SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY

Founded in 1910, the San Diego Symphony is the oldest orchestra in California and one of the largest and most significant cultural organizations in San Diego. The Orchestra performs for more than 250,000 people each season, offering a wide variety of programming at its two much-loved venues, Copley Symphony Hall in downtown San Diego (now under renovation) and The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park on San Diego Bay. In early 2018, the San Diego Symphony announced the appointment of Rafael Payare as music director. Payare leads the orchestra’s 82 full-time musicians, graduates of the finest and most celebrated music schools in the United States and abroad. The San Diego Symphony also serves as the orchestra for the San Diego Opera each season, as well as performing at several regional performing arts and community centers. For more than 30 years, the San Diego Symphony has provided comprehensive learning and community engagement programs reaching more than 65,000 students annually and bringing innovative programming to San Diego’s diverse neighborhoods and schools. For more information, visit www.sandiegosymphony.org.