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Charlotte Symphony Names David Fisk As Chief Executive

By David Boraks, WFAE 

The Charlotte Symphony has hired arts manager David Fisk as president and CEO after a yearlong search. Fisk has been executive director of the Richmond Symphony in Virginia for 18 years. 

He starts Aug. 31 and will be working alongside music director Christopher Warren-Green. Fisk replaces Mary Deissler, who left in August 2019. Development director Michelle Hamilton has been the interim director since then.  

Born in Britain, the 55-year-old Fisk is a longtime arts manager who also once led the Ulster Orchestra, the national symphony of Northern Ireland. Fisk said he has his work cut out for him. 

"I think the immediate challenge, of course, is to safely and successfully make it through the remainder of COVID crisis, however long that lasts," Fisk said. "And I think the other part of that is to think about what opportunities have been created by this crisis that we really have to seize and not miss."

That may mean virtual concerts. Like other arts and performance groups, the Charlotte Symphony has not performed live since the coronavirus pandemic prompted stay-home orders. 

"The symphony is already on top of that, which is great to see with their embrace of technology," Fisk said. 

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