Louisville Orchestra names a new CEO

After a national search, the Louisville Orchestra has a new CEO.

Robert Massey is joining the orchestra, effective next month. He succeeds Andrew Kipe, who left the Louisville Orchestra last summer to take a position with The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

Massey comes to Louisville from Jacksonville, Fla., where he has led the Jacksonville Symphony since 2014. Before that, he led Orchestra Iowa from 2008 to 2014 and the Washington Bach Consort from 2004 to 2008.

According to a news release, Massey led transformations at each, developing and implementing innovative strategies that enhanced and diversified program offerings, increased accessibility, extended reach, deepened impact and ensured financial sustainability.

"Our national search brought several candidates to our attention and Robert rose to the top because of his commitment to community and extensive experience managing growth with the orchestras under his leadership,” Louisville Orchestra Board President John Malloy said in the release.

Ken Johnson, a former executive director of the Greenville, S.C., symphony orchestra, had served as interim executive director.

During his career, Massey has raised more than $200 million for artistic initiatives, built and restored three performing arts venues, negotiated several labor agreements and enhanced the cultural landscape through new creations, collaborative partnerships and innovative business models, according to the release. He led the campaign that saved Orchestra Iowa and Cedar Rapids’ Paramount Theatre after catastrophic flooding in 2008.

"Robert is a world-class leader in the orchestra world, and he and I share a transformative creative vision for the future of the LO and the arts in our community," Louisville Orchestra Music Director Teddy Abrams said in the release. "We are very fortunate to have Robert’s exceptional talent and experience guiding us as the LO continues to grow artistically and institutionally."

Massey got his start playing trumpet for the Memphis Symphony Orchestra as a teenager. He has a bachelor of music degree from Boston’s New England Conservatory and was a Beebe Fellow at the Paris Conservatory. He is married to violist Lisa Ponton, and the couple has a 13-year-old daughter.

"I've been hearing about the Louisville Orchestra since I was a young musician," Massey said in the release. "I admire the spirit of adventure and creativity that Teddy brings to the podium and am impressed with the talents of the members of the orchestra. I'm honored to join an orchestra that is part of a vibrant and collaborative arts community. My family and I are looking forward to exploring our new home, and I’m personally devoted to building my inventory of fine bourbons!"

The Louisville Orchestra is the area's fourth-largest performing arts organization, with a $6.8 million budget for fiscal 2018.