Brian Ritter of The Albany Symphony

Brian Ritter is the Executive Director of the Albany Symphony.  He has previously held the role of executive director at the New England Philharmonic and symphonies in Rockford, Illinois and his hometown Allentown, Pennsylvania. 

Tell us about your position?

 As the chief executive of the Albany Symphony, I’m responsible for providing vision and leadership for the business and artistic functions of the institution including marketing, fundraising, finance, artistic planning and production, and governance.  It’s an incredibly rewarding opportunity to work with so many wonderful and talented people.    There is never a dull moment and we’re all persistently striving to build a robust organization that best serves the Region in deep, meaningful, and powerful ways through music.  

You recently were recognized by the Business Review as a 40 under Forty.  How does that feel?

This is a nice honor and it feels great. (The best part is still being way under 40 years old!)  Being in Albany for just over a year, I’ve learned what an important resource the Business Review is for the region, so I’m thrilled that the Albany Symphony will continue to get some good attention through this recognition.  

We heard that the Albany Symphony is making its grand debut at Carnegie Hall this month.  Give us the details.

We make our debut on May 10, 2011 as part of the inaugural Spring for Music Festival, which celebrates orchestras that are the most creative and innovative with their concert programming. This is such an exciting occasion for us to be representing the Capital Region on the national stage.

You’re new to the Capital Region-what is the best part about living in the area?

I love the fact that our Region is so rich with history and a beautiful and scenic place to be.  I’m passionate about classical music, so being close to NYC and Boston and only 40 minutes from Tanglewood and SPAC, it doesn’t get any better than that.

Do you have a favorite downtown restaurant or activity?

I often have lunch meetings, but when I can, I like walking down Pearl Street at lunchtime and having the choice of dozens of great places to grab something to eat.  I also enjoy biking through Downtown on the weekends.