Cleveland Orchestra Names Abby Mitchell as New Chief Development Officer

The Cleveland Orchestra announced yesterday its appointment of Abby Mitchell to the position of chief development officer. The role was previously occupied by Jon Limbacher, who resigned last year to partner with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra as their managing director.

Mitchell will serve in her new station as chief fundraiser for the Cleveland Orchestra. She is currently employed as Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine's executive director of medical development, having previously administrated for both the Cleveland Clinic and the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

As reported by Cleveland.com in a piece regarding the symphony executive's background and new job in the "Forest City," Mitchell will begin her tenure with the Cleveland Orchestra next week:

"Mitchell is a native of Carrollton, Ohio, and earned both master of healthcare administration and bachelor of arts degrees at The Ohio State University. Her duties at the Cleveland Orchestra commence Monday, July 18."

Cleveland Orchestra's president of its board of trustees, Dennis W. LaBarre, praised Mitchell's management skill and spoke enthusiastically of her new position with the orchestra to Cleveland Business:

"[S]he has the expertise required to build upon and manage future growth for the orchestra's development efforts," he said. "She is uniquely prepared to help build on this community's historic spirit of generosity to serve Northeast Ohio and to instill an impassioned love for music in future generations."

In Thursday's press release announcing Mitchell's new position, she stated that she is a music devotee, having "developed a love of music at a young age, with a little wise help from my mother. And I personally understand the value of music to connect audiences and friends and family together. I am elated at the opportunity to lead fundraising efforts on behalf of the Cleveland Orchestra and look forward to the many challenges ahead."

Below, watch a YouTube video of Cleveland Orchestra's tribute to Pierre Boulez, the revered French composer who died earlier this year at the age of 90.

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TagsCleveland Orchestra, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Abby Mitchell, Jon Limbacher, Dennis W. LaBarre, Pierre Boulez, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, Cincinnati Children's Hospital