Movin' on up north

Fort Worth Symphony CEO Keith Cerny takes top job at Vancouver Orchestra

Don't forget that Fort Worth cowboy hat, Keith.

Photo by Katie Kelly

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra president and CEO Keith Cerny is heading back to Canada. Cerny has been appointed president and CEO of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the VSO School of Music, a role he'll assume on January 11, 2027.

The FWSO had announced on October 23 that Cerny would depart for "another chief executive role at an arts organization outside Texas." The Vancouver Symphony revealed his appointment in a press release; the Vancouver Sun was the first to report the news on November 6.

Cerny will succeed retiring Vancouver Symphony chief executive Angela Elster. He was chosen from a field of more than 110 candidates following a national and international search.

“The VSO holds a special place in Canadian cultural life, and in the life of this city,” said Cerny says in the VSO release. “What draws me here is the full scope of what this organization is: a world-class orchestra in a vibrant international city, a thriving school, and a genuine community institution that reaches hundreds of thousands of people each year."

It's not the first time Cerny has left a Dallas-Fort Worth arts leadership post for a position in Canada. After leading the Dallas Opera from 2010 to 2017, he headed north to become CEO of Calgary Opera. About eight months later, he was lured back to Texas to join the FWSO in January 2019. (Interestingly, Cerny's Dallas Opera successor, Ian Derrer, left to become general director of the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto earlier this year.)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (@vsorchestra)

During his eight years in Fort Worth, Cerny worked with board chair Mercedes T. Bass to recruit Robert Spano, a four-time Grammy Award winner, after the departure of beloved longtime music director Miguel Harth-Bedoya. He also brought on British conductor Dame Jane Glover as principal guest conductor.

The orchestra also credits Cerny with strengthening its finances and broadening its programming. During the pandemic, the FWSO delivered a $330,000 surplus over three years while continuing to perform live concerts and maintaining full pay and benefits for musicians and staff.

Cerny, an economist and management consultant who trained as a pianist and conductor at London’s Guildhall School of Music & Drama and the English National Opera, appealed to the VSO for his combination of artistic and business acumen.

“We ran an international search because we wanted the best candidate for Vancouver, and Keith Cerny is exactly that," says David Garofalo, chair of the Vancouver Symphony Society Board of Directors, in the release. "He brings to this role a rare and compelling combination: the analytical rigour of an economist, the artistic passion of a performing pianist, and thirty years of hands-on experience building cultural institutions. His record speaks for itself – landmark programming, genuine innovation in equity and access, and the kind of leadership that earns trust from musicians, patrons, and communities alike. We are proud that he is coming to Vancouver.”

The Fort Worth Symphony has established a search committee to find Cerny's successor. Chairman of the Board Mercedes T. Bass said the organization plans to seek a candidate with substantial CEO experience to work with its administrative team and Spano.

“It has been an enormous privilege to lead the FWSO for eight years, and I wish the institution continued success,” Cerny said in a previous statement.

fwso symphony keith cerny canada fort worth symphony

FWSO news

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra CEO Keith Cerny to leave after 8 years

Photo by Karen Almond

undefined

The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra is losing its president and CEO, Keith Cerny, who will leave in January 2027 for another chief executive role at an arts organization outside Texas, according to a release.

Cerny, who has led the orchestra for eight years, will depart after a tenure that included the hiring of Music Director Robert Spano, navigating the COVID-19 pandemic without cutting musicians’ and staff members’ pay or benefits, and a major push to expand the orchestra’s board and donor base, the release notes.

The orchestra announced his departure October 23. It did not identify his next employer. He did not hint at his departure at the Opening Night Celebration, attended by musicians, board, staff, and patrons, on September 11.

Cerny joined the FWSO in January 2019 after serving as CEO of Calgary Opera in Canada for about eight months. Before that, he led The Dallas Opera from 2010 to 2017, where he commissioned world premieres, introduced public simulcasts, and established the Hart Institute for Women Conductors.

Fort Worth’s search for a new leader began after former President and CEO Amy Adkins resigned in July 2017. Cerny was selected following an international search announced in August 2018.

During his time in Fort Worth, Cerny worked with board chair Mercedes T. Bass to recruit Spano, a four-time Grammy Award winner, after the departure of beloved longtime music director Miguel Harth-Bedoya; and British conductor Dame Jane Glover, who became principal guest conductor, the release notes.

British conductor Dame Jane Glover became principal guest conductor under Cerny's tenure. Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra

Also to his credit: Since the 2024-25 season, Cerny has led a recruitment drive that added 50 supporters to the board, which now has 83 members. Board giving, excluding Bass, has more than quadrupled since the initiative began, according to the orchestra.

"When I first hired Keith, I tasked him with 'putting the FWSO on the map,' and I believe that he and I have been very successful in meeting that goal,” Bass said in a statement. She credited Cerny with elevating the orchestra’s national and international profile and building a strong administrative leadership team.

Cerny says in the release that he valued the opportunity to expand the orchestra’s artistic reach through partnerships with other cultural organizations.

FWSO Opening Night 2026 Aristo Sham performs with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and maestro Robert Spano on Opening Night 2026. Photo by Jill Johnson

Among the artistic initiatives and accomplishments highlighted by the FWSO during Cerny’s tenure:

Expanding artistic collaborations: Partnerships with the Kimbell Art Museum, Sid Richardson Museum, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Bruce Wood Dance Dallas, and Dallas Theater Center.
Launching “Theater of a Concert:” A series incorporating elements such as dance, projections, actors, and singers into symphonic performances.
Reshaping the Pops lineup: Increasing the number of concerts that generate a financial margin while restructuring or eliminating money-losing programming.

Cerny also cited several personal highlights, including productions of three Stravinsky ballets with three different dance companies over three seasons, the world premiere of the suite from Joby Talbot’s ballet Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, a Shakespeare program with Dallas Theater Center, and a three-year partnership with the Kimbell.

“It has been an enormous privilege to lead the FWSO for eight years, and I wish the institution continued success,” Cerny said in a statement.

The orchestra has established a search committee and will immediately begin looking for his successor. Bass said the organization plans to seek a candidate with substantial CEO experience to work with its administrative team and Spano.

fwso symphony fort worth symphony