Symphony’s vom Saal departs for Nashville job as interim director is appointed

At Spokane Symphony’s helm since 2016, Jeff vom Saal is leaving at the end of this month to take a job as Nashville (Tennessee) Symphony’s chief operating officer.

Russ Lee, former symphony board chair and retired bank executive, will step in as interim executive director. The search for a new director will begin later this symphony season.

In the eight years that vom Saal oversaw the symphony and its owned venue, the Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox, he is credited with helping bring in new revenue sources such as show concessions and running a ticket sales service.

As similar to many symphonies and other art programs, vom Saal often tackled the challenge of how to reduce yearly budget deficits, especially when he first arrived and after COVID, while seeking ways to attract new audiences.

“I’m enormously proud of this institution and its profound relationship with our community,” vom Saal said.

“We’ve done great work independent of the challenges that have surrounded us, of which there have been significant ones including COVID and some others. This organization had been doing great work way before I was here and will continue to do great work way after.”

In April 2023, the organization faced a $1 million annual budget deficit in the wake of expiring pandemic-related government funds and increased business costs. After a fundraising push and some revenue boosts, leaders narrowed that projection to just more than $200,000. When the budget year ended, only about $10,000 of that deficit remained, vom Saal said.

Also, the 2023-24 symphony season landed a boost, the first Spokane performance by renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma. It also had eclectic performances such as one with local author Jess Walter and another for the 50th anniversary of Expo ’74.

As the symphony enters its 79th season, its fiscal year that started July 1 has about a $7.5 million operating budget with a projected shortfall at nearly $100,000. The symphony and its venue are in a good place, vom Saal said.

“Last year, we worked off a budget that had an anticipated deficit from operations of a little more than $200,000,” vom Saal said. “We ended up right where we wanted to be. We were about $10,000 off budget, still a little negative, but those challenges are persistent across the industry.

“Yes, Yo-Yo Ma made a significant difference not only in revenue but also attracting a broader awareness. This year, we have a budget with a slightly smaller deficit and initial indicators are that we’re tracking pretty true to that budget. But it’s early. We’re in a business often dealt variances.”

Vom Saal also helped navigate the symphony’s transition from longtime music director Eckart Preu to the current music director, James Lowe, who around COVID joined in fully for the 2020-21 season.

Although vom Saal said he’s a “generalist” who credits co-workers ideas, vom Saal said he is proud of his work here to bring in younger and broader audiences, including concerts that blended experiences with music, such as “Masterworks 4: 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing,” featuring astronaut Anne McClain and visual effects.

He worked with the symphony to develop the Free Access to Student Tickets program, which gives children in kindergarten through 12th grade free tickets. The symphony has a long tradition of outreach and education with Spokane-area students, and that also grew, he said.

“I feel I’ve done some things that hopefully will outlast me,” he said. “I think we’re leaving the organization in a better place than I found it. We have grown the range of orchestral performance types to attract broader audiences, bring more young people to the Fox and ensure a strong institution for generations to come.

“We’ve stayed true to our artistic heritage and artistic DNA. And the orchestra is playing at an extremely high level.”

Meanwhile, Nashville became a draw because it faces similar challenges, vom Saal said. He said over the years with industry connections, he has clicked with that group’s leaders. It is considered a big-city orchestra, which opened in a downtown center in 2006 a year before the Fox’s renovation.

Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center later had flooding issues.

“Their identity artistically is very congruent with ours; they’re a vibrant orchestra and they also do a lot of other things. Then, they had a flood that was devastating, then COVID.

“I like challenges. I flourish in challenges. It gives you the opportunity to ask broader questions, and from that, shape initiatives.”

Vom Saal graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music with a degree in trumpet performance. He began in leadership roles first at the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra in North Dakota before heading to the Quad City Symphony in Davenport, Iowa, and the Marin Symphony in Northern California.

Before he took the Spokane job, he knew about the local symphony’s reputation for top-notched musicians, a draw for him coming here, he said.

One significant gain in recent years is a push to book a range of acts into the Fox.

“What we’ve done here is try to build a durable offering of different concerts and activity types for all,” he said.

“We think of it as we’re a hall for all. What is so special about that is whether someone is here to see the symphony, the Nutcracker or take in comedy, those things can actually all come together. Maybe someone comes in for the first time for something that’s not for symphony and see how great the hall is, and maybe is more likely to come back to see ‘Star Wars.’ ”

The local symphony’s outreach and education will continue to expand in Spokane, he said. This next year, he said electric violinist musician Mark Wood, famous as an original member of Trans Siberian Orchestra, is scheduled to do a weeklong residency with an education focus.

Coming out of retirement to take on the interim role, Lee will live part time in Spokane, he said. He moved to Portland during the pandemic so his wife could be a teacher for a grandchild after schools closed during the pandemic.

Lee said vom Saal brought the symphony out of a significant budget crunch when he first arrived in 2016, and he continued that kind of stewardship.

“We’ve grown our revenues and outreach in the community considerably,” Lee said. “Jeff helped us develop a strategy to better utilize the Fox. He helped us broaden revenue streams, like we own a food and beverage concession in the Fox now that really helps whether it’s during symphony performances or those of an outside promoter.”

He will step in Sept. 1, before the symphony season begins Sept. 14.