Spokane Symphony Names Brenda Nienhouse New Executive Director

Jun 8, 2011

For Immediate Release

Contact: Annie Matlow 326-3136

SPOKANE: Brenda S. Nienhouse has been appointed executive director of the Spokane Symphony, the Board of Directors announce today.

Nienhouse, who takes up her new post on June 28, 2005, brings wide experience in artistic leadership, executive leadership, fundraising and marketing. She has held executive positions with West Shore Symphony Orchestra in Muskegon, Michigan; Traverse Area Arts Council in Traverse City, Michigan; and Holland Area Arts Council in Holland, Michigan. She has been orchestra manager for St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, as well as Rochester Philharmonic in Rochester, N.Y. and Finger Lakes Music Festival in Canandaigua, N.Y. She was the Special Projects Coordinator for the Los Angeles Philharmonic. She has worked in arts management consulting since 1990.

Nienhouse received a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Music from the University of Michigan. She was an American Symphony Orchestra League Orchestra Management Fellow with experiences completed in Los Angeles, Colorado Springs and St. Louis.

We are excited about the strategic vision and experience Brenda Nienhouse brings to the Spokane Symphony. As an ASOL Fellow she received valuable training. She has proven to be a strong leader in strategic, production, education, outreach, personnel and artistic matters. Eckart Preu has brought a new and exciting energy to the Spokane Symphony and we are pleased to be able to add her to this great team, said Symphony Board President Bill Simer.
Nienhouse was selected from a national search conducted by a committee made up of members of the Board of Trustees, musicians from the orchestra and Preu.