Deborah Borda (born 1949) is a retired American music executive.

Early life and education

Borda was born on July 15, 1949, in New York. At age 12, she moved with her family to Boston. She graduated from

Bennington College Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont, United States. Founded as a women’s college in 1932,

with a BA in music in 1971, and studied at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

from 1972 to 1973.

Career

After graduation, Borda moved to

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

and started working as a freelancer for ballet, Broadway shows and various orchestras. She was the assistant to the scheduling director of the Marlboro Music Festival in 1976. She was previously the manager of The Handel and Haydn Society, an executive director of the

Detroit Symphony Orchestra The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. Its primary performance venue is Orchestra Hall (Detroit, Michigan), Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown, Detroit, ...

, president and managing director of the

Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO) is an American chamber orchestra based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Its principal concert venue is the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts. In collaboration with five artistic partners, the orchestra's musi ...

, and both general manager and artistic administrator of the

San Francisco Symphony The San Francisco Symphony, founded in 1911, is an American orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980 the orchestra has been resident at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in the city's Hayes Valley, San Francisco, Hayes Valley ne ...

. In 1991, Borda was appointed Executive Director of the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...

. She led the organization for eight years until she was appointed President and CEO of

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil) is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. The orchestra holds a regular concert season from October until June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from ...

, a position later renamed in 2014 as the David C. Bohnett Presidential Chair. This title stems from a $10 million endowment made in 2014, "in honor of Deborah Borda's continuing accomplishments with the Los Angeles Philharmonic". During her time with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Borda oversaw the completion of the

Walt Disney Concert Hall The Walt Disney Concert Hall at 111 South Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles, California, is the fourth hall of the Los Angeles Music Center and was designed by Frank Gehry. It was opened on October 23, 2003. Bounded by Hope Street, Grand Av ...

, helped recruit

Gustavo Dudamel Gustavo Adolfo Dudamel Ramírez (born 26 January 1981) is a Venezuelan conductor. He is currently the music director of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He is scheduled to become the Music and Artistic ...

music director A music director, musical director or director of music is a person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert ...

, and joined its board in 2010. Borda developed a strategic plan for the construction and financing of the hall, which officially opened in October 2003. Borda joined the

Harvard Kennedy School The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

Center for Public Leadership The Center for Public Leadership (CPL) is an academic research center at Harvard University that provides teaching, research and training in the practical skills of leadership for people in government, nonprofits, and business. The center works to ...

as a Leader-In-Residence in 2015, making her the first fine arts executive to join the center. In 2017, Borda returned to the New York Philharmonic as President and CEO. During her six year tenure, she led a major renovation of

David Geffen Hall David Geffen Hall is a concert hall at Lincoln Center on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The 2,200-seat auditorium opened in 1962, and is the home of the New York Philharmonic. The facility, designed by Max Abramovitz, was o ...

, guided the organization through

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

, and signed Gustavo Dudamel as the next music director. In 2020, Borda launched the largest women-only commissioning initiative in history, called ''Project 19''. The project consists of 19 new works by 19 women composers.

Personal life

Borda's longtime partner is Coralie Toevs, a senior major gifts officer at the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...

Awards

* 2007: John C. Argue Dickens Medal of Honor * 2015: Charles Flint Kellogg Award in Arts and Letters * 2017: Honorary doctorate of the

Curtis Institute of Music The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, a Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on a full scholarshi ...

, Philadelphia * 2018: Elected Member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

* 2019: "Woman of Influence" of the New York Business Journal * 2021: Honorary doctorate of the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music a ...

, New York * 2021: Honorary doctorate of the

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. The conservatory is located on Huntington Avenue along Avenue of the Arts (Boston), the Avenue of the Arts near Boston Symphony Ha ...

, Boston

References

External links

* * * *, 2013
Deborah Borda
on the website of the new conductors′ competition „La Maestra“ (women only) {{DEFAULTSORT:Borda, Deborah Living people Alumni of the Royal College of Music American arts administrators Bennington College alumni New York Philharmonic Los Angeles Philharmonic American women arts administrators 1949 births People from New York City