Utah Symphony, Utah Opera president and CEO announces resignation

Utah Symphony and Utah Opera president and CEO Paul Meecham announced his resignation Wednesday. Meecham joined the organization in July 2016. | Provided by the Utah Symphony and Utah Opera

Since joining USUO in July 2016, Paul Meecham has worked to expand the Utah Symphony’s reach across the state.

SALT LAKE CITY — The president and CEO of the Utah Symphony and Utah Opera is resigning.

Paul Meecham announced Wednesday that Patricia A. Richards, former chair of the USUO board and interim CEO from 2015 to 2016, will once again take over as interim CEO starting Oct. 1.

The announcement comes four months after Utah Symphony music director Thierry Fischer announced he would step down following the 2021-22 season. Beginning March 2020, Fischer will be the music director of the Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra, splitting his time between Utah and Brazil.

“I have enjoyed immensely my time with USUO, with its unique blend of symphony, opera and the Deer Valley Music Festival,” Meecham said in a news release. “In making this decision, it is definitely a bittersweet moment. However, after a very fulfilling career in the orchestra field spanning almost 40 years, I would like to explore new avenues. ... My decision will allow the next president and CEO the opportunity to see through the search process and the appointment of (Fischer’s) successor.”

Provided by the Utah Symphony and Utah Opera

Utah Symphony and Utah Opera president and CEO Paul Meecham announced his resignation Wednesday. Meecham joined the organization in 2016, after serving as president and CEO of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra for 10 years.

During his three years with USUO, Meecham worked to expand the Utah Symphony’s reach across the state, developing a stronger presence in Utah County, creating better engagement with the Hispanic/Latino community, launching the $30 family pass and a Film in Concert series to attract younger audiences, establishing the “Unwound” casual concert series and spearheading “the Great American Road Trip” — a 1,200-mile journey to Utah’s state parks and national monuments.

“One of the many things that attracted me to Utah and this position was the combination of performing music at the highest quality and in unusual venues,” he previously told the Deseret News.

Before joining USUO in July 2016, Meecham was president and CEO of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra for 10 years, executive director of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra (2003-2006) and general manager of the New York Philharmonic (1999-2003) and San Francisco Symphony (1997-1999). Originally from Bath, England, Meecham also held positions with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and London Sinfonietta.

Until his Utah Symphony appointment, Meecham had never been to the Beehive State.

“I look at the opportunity in Utah ... to really take what has been built up, particularly over the last few years under Thierry Fischer’s leadership, and to build upon it,” he told the Deseret News in 2016. “Plus the fact that I enjoy skiing — there’s no better place to go.”

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