Last week the Chicago Philharmonic Society announced the appointment of a new executive director, Terell M. Johnson. A classically trained musician as well as an administrator, he’ll succeed another musician-turned-administrator, Donna Milanovich, who’s retiring after ten years in that job—and more as a Chi Phil flutist and board member.
“We love the Joffrey, we have a wonderful relationship still. We were sad we couldn’t follow them into the Opera House, but we understand that the rules of the Opera House are what they are,” Milanovich says.
The Orchestra of Illinois flipped the control to the players. The group has since been disbanded, reincarnated, and gone through a couple of name changes but, Milanovich says, especially since a 2012 “restart,” has been true to the idea of a “fully musician-governed organization, with a musician majority on our board.”
