Michael Pastreich is an American performing arts executive. He became the executive director of

the Washington Ballet The Washington Ballet (TWB) is an ensemble of professional ballet dancers based in Washington DC. It was founded in 1976 by Mary Day, and has been under the artistic directorship of Julie Kent since 2016. Septime Webre was artistic director fo ...

in May 2019. He has been the longest serving president & CEO of

The Florida Orchestra The Florida Orchestra is an American orchestra based in the tri-city area of Tampa, Clearwater and St. Petersburg, Florida. It was founded as the Florida Gulf Coast Symphony upon the 1968 merger of the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra and the T ...

, and served for 11 years from the 40th anniversary of the orchestra in 2007 till 2018. During his tenure paid attendance to performances increased by 49 percent, while national attendance to orchestra performances went down. In 2014, the magazine Musical American presented him in their series ''Profiles in Courage''. Major projects to engage the community are cited by the orchestra as being drivers in the orchestra's popularity. Previously he was the executive director of the

Elgin Symphony Orchestra The Elgin Symphony Orchestra is a regional orchestra founded and headquartered in Elgin, Illinois. Its Music Director is Andrew Grams, who was named the 2015 Conductor of the Year by the Illinois Council of Orchestras. The Orchestra's season inc ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

from 1996 till 2007. In 2005, the

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

named him a "Chicagoan of the Year" and credited him with helping to transform "a struggling community ensemble into one of the Midwest's most artistically and financially secure regional orchestras." In 2006, the Illinois Council of Orchestras named him Executive Director of the Year. He is the son of performing arts executive

Peter Pastreich Peter Pastreich (born September 13, 1938) served as executive director of the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra (2009–2011), the San Francisco Symphony (1978 to 1999), the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra (1966–1978) and the Nashville Symphony (1962� ...

References

External links

SPx Podcast 8-7-18 with Michael Pastreich
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pastreich, Michael 1966 births Living people American chief executives Washington University in St. Louis alumni