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David Whitehill, 34Executive Director
Bangor Symphony Orchestra
In his four-plus years with the Bangor Symphony Orchestra, executive director David Whitehill has guided the ensemble from debt into the black, and helped deliver rapt and record-breaking audiences to hear one of the nation’s oldest continuously performing orchestras.
“David’s leadership, sacrifice, resourcefulness, creativity, and commitment to the art above all else have been instrumental in our success,†says BSO board member Joyce Clark-Sarnacki.
Two years ago, Grammy winner Lucas Richman joined as Music Director and Conductor. “I would not have made the decision ... if not for the brilliant leadership and overall ‘menschkeit’ that David Whitehill brings to the table. ... It is astounding to me to look back at the relatively brief amount of time he has been with the BSO and see how much he has accomplished,†Richman comments.
A cellist who insists “I’ve left performing to the professionals,†Whitehill and his wife, Jessica, live in Bangor. Collecting art and going antiquing are favorite pasttimes, and Whitehill is also a collector of historic letters by musical greats, among them Isaac Stern and Pablo Casals.
Whitehill speaks passionately of his work.
“For me, what’s so special about the BSO is its exponential effect. We’re not the New York Philharmonic, but we are to this area. What’s important is not only the art being made, but also how it drives the quality of life.
“My role is simple, but exciting. Ask what the community needs, and respond. I was so pleased when attendance was at 97 percent of capacity at ‘The Planets’ on a Sunday afternoon in January, and at a recent Masterworks concert, to see a line of strollers in the lobby. That’s simply not happening everywhere. “The phenomenon speaks to the history of the Symphony and also to what we’ve been doing recently, and how it’s received.â€Â
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