The Cleveland Orchestra Appoints Mark Williams Director of Artistic Planning

The Cleveland Orchestra announces the appointment of Mark Williams as director of artistic planning. Mr. Williams will be responsible for managing all aspects of artistic planning and programming at The Cleveland Orchestra, including managing all artist relations, programming, and presentations at Severance Hall and the Blossom Festival. He will begin his duties with the Orchestra on January 7, 2013.

Mark Williams comes to Cleveland from the San Francisco Symphony, where he has served as artistic administrator since 2009. In this role, he has been responsible for classical and non-classical programming, production of opera and concert performances, and administration of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus. He partnered with Disney/Pixar to create and launch the sold-out Pixar in Concert program, and cast acclaimed productions of Debussy’s Le martye de Saint Sébastien, Cage’s Songbooks, and Bartok’s Bluebeard’s Castle. Prior to his work in San Francisco, Mr. Williams was an artist manager at IMG Artists in New York, where he managed tours for Cecilia Bartoli and the King’s Singers, worked on the management teams for Renée Fleming, Alan Gilbert, Susan Graham, and Dawn Upshaw, and brought emerging talent to the roster including Sasha Cooke and Layla Claire. Mr. Williams began his administrative career at Columbia Artists Management in New York.

Mr. Williams holds a Bachelor of Music in Horn Performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music and Case Western Reserve University where his primary teachers were Cleveland Orchestra musicians Richard Solis and Richard King. He also studied with Julie Landsman and Michelle Baker of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and performed in masterclass for Philip Myers of the New York Philharmonic.