Deborah Borda is the president and

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

Education

Borda was born on July 15, 1949, in New York. At the age of 12 her family moved to Boston. She graduated from

Bennington College Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont. Founded in 1932 as a women's college, it became co-educational in 1969. It claims to be the first college to include visual and performing arts as an equal partner in ...

with a BA in music in 1971, and studied at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

from 1972 to 1973.

Career

After graduation, Borda moved to

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

and started to play as a freelancer for ballet, Broadway shows and various orchestras. She was the assistant to the scheduling director of the

Marlboro Music Festival The Marlboro Music School and Festival is a retreat for advanced classical training and musicianship held for seven weeks each summer in Marlboro, Vermont, in the United States. Public performances are held each weekend while the school is in sess ...

in 1976. She was previously the manager of The Handel and Haydn Society, an executive director of the

Detroit Symphony Orchestra The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Michigan. Its primary performance venue is Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown neighborhood. Jader Bignamini is the current music d ...

, president and managing director of the

Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO) is a full-time professional chamber orchestra based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. In collaboration with five Artistic Partners, the orchestra's musicians present more than 130 concerts and educational programs ea ...

, and both general manager and artistic administrator of the

San Francisco Symphony The San Francisco Symphony (SFS), founded in 1911, is an American orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980 the orchestra has been resident at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in the city's Hayes Valley neighborhood. The San Fr ...

. Borda was the first David C. Bohnett Presidential Chair of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association. This title stems from a $10 million endowment made by

David Bohnett David C. Bohnett (born April 2, 1956) is an American philanthropist and technology entrepreneur. He is the founder and chairman of the David Bohnett Foundation, a non-profit, grant-making organization devoted to improving society through social ...

to the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2014, "in honor of Deborah Borda's continuing accomplishments with the Los Angeles Philharmonic". During her time with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Borda oversaw the completion of the

Walt Disney Concert Hall The Walt Disney Concert Hall at 111 South Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles, California, is the fourth hall of the Los Angeles Music Center and was designed by Frank Gehry. It was opened on October 24, 2003. Bounded by Hope Street, Grand Ave ...

. and joined its board in 2010. Borda developed a strategic plan for the construction and financing of the hall, which ended in October 2003 at the opening ceremony. Borda joined the

Harvard Kennedy School The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

Center for Public Leadership The Center for Public Leadership (CPL) is an academic research center at Harvard University that provides teaching, research and training in the practical skills of leadership for people in government, nonprofits, and business. Located at Harvard ...

as a Leader-In-Residence in 2015, making her the first fine arts executive to join the center. Previously with the New York Philharmonic for eight seasons as its executive director, Borda spent 17 years as the president and chief executive officer of the

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...

before returning to the New York Philharmonic in 2017. In 2020, Borda launched the largest women-only commissioning initiative in history, called ''Project 19''. The project consists of 19 new works by 19 women composers.

Awards

* 2007: John C. Argue Dickens Medal of Honor * 2015: Charles Flint Kellogg Award in Arts and Letters * 2017: Honorary doctorate of the

Curtis Institute of Music The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on full scholarship. Hi ...

, Philadelphia * 2018: Elected Member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

* 2019: „Woman of Influence“ of the New York Business Journal * 2021: Honorary doctorate of the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in mu ...

, New York * 2021: Honorary doctorate of the

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music Music school, conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The ...

, Boston

References

External links

* * * *, 2013
Deborah Borda
on the website of the new conductors′ competition „La Maestra“ (women only) {{DEFAULTSORT:Borda, Deborah Living people Bennington College alumni Alumni of the Royal College of Music American arts administrators Women arts administrators New York Philharmonic Year of birth missing (living people)