The president and CEO of the Utah Symphony | Utah Opera announced Wednesday that he’s resigning.
Paul Meecham, who has served in the position since July 2016, said his last day will be Monday. He’ll be replaced on an interim basis by Patrica A. Richard, a former chair of the USUO board (2005-14) who previously served as interim CEO in 2015-16.
In a statement, Meecham said he “enjoyed immensely my time with the USUO,” and called his decision to leave “definitely a bittersweet moment.” His departure, will, he added, “allow the next president and CEO the opportunity to see through the search process and appointment” of the Utah Symphony’s next music director.
Thierry Fischer announced he will leave that position at the end of the 2021-22 season. Fischer will take the job of principal conductor of the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra next March, and will split his time between Utah and Brazil for the next two years.
USUO board chairman Tom Love thanked Meecham and also noted that the timing of his departure “allows for a new CEO to play an active and vibrant role in our painstaking search for a new music director ... a process that begins in earnest in a few short weeks.”
Before coming to Utah, Meecham was president and CEO of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (2006-16); executive director of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra (2003-06); general manager of the New York Philharmonic (1999-2003); and general manager of the San Francisco Symphony (1997-99). Before that, he held positions with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and the London Sinfonietta in his native United Kingdom.
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