Orchestra Iowa CEO moving on

Now that Orchestra Iowa has built a model for struggling symphonies across the nation, CEO Robert Massey is ready for a new challenge.

The charismatic, business-savvy Massey, who came to Cedar Rapids days before the Flood of 2008, is moving to Florida to become president and CEO of the Jacksonville Symphony. He will begin his new duties Jan. 2 but is staying with Orchestra Iowa until Feb. 28 to facilitate a smooth transition.

Massey, 44, said the decision was not easy, and 'lots of tears will be shed” before leaving, but the timing was right.

'We finally found an orchestra ...

in need of a big overhaul,” Massey said by phone from Jacksonville, where his appointment was announced Thursday.

Even though the Florida ensemble is an all-professional symphony with 67 salaried musicians, a budget about three times larger than Orchestra Iowa's and a paid staff of 38, it is facing many of the same hurdles Massey helped conquer in Cedar Rapids.

'Like many orchestras, they've been continuously operating with a deficit budget,” he said. 'They've got a pretty significant debt over their heads.”

Like others in the industry, he said, the Jacksonville Symphony had a labor dispute in recent years and canceled half a season. Performances have resumed, but the organization still is feeling 'lingering effects.”

He said momentum is building, and a new music director has been hired for the 2015-16 season - Courtney Lewis, associate conductor of the New York Philharmonic.

'The president position was the last one they needed to fill to get into the new era and away from their past,” Massey said. 'So I'm looking at an organization that financially needs some assistance. Their audiences need to grow, ticket sales are somewhat stagnant, contributed giving has been somewhat stagnant.”

That's not unlike the situation the Cedar Rapids Symphony was in after the Paramount Theatre was destroyed by floodwaters.

Among his accomplishments, Massey helped rebrand the ensemble as Orchestra Iowa, expanding its reach; helped double the operating budget from $1.5 million to $3 million; forged partnerships with the Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre, Ballet Quad Cities and VenuWorks; and increased audiences from 20,000 to 100,000 annually.

'If I can take just some of what we've been able to accomplish at Orchestra Iowa and share that with others, I think the entire industry and the art form will be better off,” he said.