Chief Executive Officer

The Grant Park Music Festival (the Festival) seeks a strategic and collaborative organizational leader with a passion for music as its next President and CEO (CEO). This is an opportunity to lead the nation's longest-running free outdoor summer classical music series, making live symphonic and choral performances accessible to Chicagoans and visitors of all ages.

Serving as a civic and cultural leader, the Festival continues to expand partnerships with world-class artists, local music schools, esteemed performing arts organizations, and Chicago’s beautiful city parks. With the opening of Millennium Park in 2004, the Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus found a new home in the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, a state-of-the-art outdoor concert facility designed by Frank Gehry. Today, the Festival produces a ten-week season featuring nearly 200 free music events across the city. Over 250,000 people attend the Festival’s mainstage concerts every summer in Millennium Park. An estimated 100,000 listeners enjoy live radio broadcasts and internet streaming of the Festival’s concerts via its annual partnership with WFMT-FM. The Festival also provides an array of free enrichment and lifelong learning programs that engage approximately 40,000 children and adults annually.

As the Festival plans for the future, the CEO will provide innovative leadership and strategic vision to all aspects of the organization. The CEO will demonstrate a commitment to the Festival’s mission and core values, as well as an appreciation for and understanding of its contributions to the arts within the local community and beyond. They will be a thoughtful partner to the artistic leadership, an effective team leader to staff, and a force for ongoing board engagement and fundraising success, building the long-term financial resources to sustain the Festival in the future. The CEO will lead a collaborative process to define the next strategic chapter for the organization, continue cultivating strong partnerships with the City of Chicago, and raise the visibility and awareness of the Festival as a key cultural institution in Chicago.

COMPENSATION AND LOCATION

The anticipated compensation for this position is $250,000 to $300,000, which will be competitive and commensurate with experience. The President and CEO is expected to reside in the Chicagoland area, ensuring visibility and accessibility for staff, civic partners, and the community. Periodic travel for conferences, events, and network building is expected.

APPLICATIONS, INQUIRIES, AND NOMINATIONS

The Festival strives to create a workplace that reflects the diversity of our city and the audiences we serve. People of all backgrounds and experiences, and especially those who have been historically underrepresented in the field, are encouraged to apply. Screening of complete applications will begin immediately and continue until the completion of the search process. Inquiries, nominations, referrals, and CVs with cover letters should be sent via the Isaacson, Miller website: 

Benjamin Tobin is leading this search with Nella Young and Alaine Small.

The Grant Park Orchestral Association provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to actual or perceived race (including traits associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles such as braids, locks, and twists), color, sex, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, pregnancy (including childbirth, or medical or common conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth), genetic information, marital status, familial/parental status, disability (physical and mental), military status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and expression, citizenship or immigration status, unfavorable discharge from military service, order of protection status, credit history, arrest record, conviction record, family responsibilities, and any other classification/characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local law.