The Cleveland Institute of Music named Gary Hanson as its interim president, Friday. The retiring executive director of the Cleveland Orchestra assumes his new post starting next month.
As the Institute of Music starts its search for someone to permanently replace retiring president Joel Smirnoff, it found a temporary substitute just a few doors away in University Circle. Hanson finishes up a 28-year tenure with the Cleveland Orchestra this December 31st, and will step into his new role, the following day. He comes to the post with a record of guiding the Orchestra through some challenging economic times, over the past decade. He'll be temporarily overseeing the affairs of an educational institution which is working to address concerns of state officials over some of its practices and procedures. Smirnoff, who has led CIM since 2008, announced in October that he would be stepping down at the end of this month to pursue some personal musical projects. The Institute of Music assembled a Presidential search committee in November and is hoping to name a new leader before the start of the next school year.
