Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra President & CEO Jonathan Martin to Retire

The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra President and CEO Jonathan Martin plans to retire on February 16, 2025, following a seven-year tenure helming the organization. CSO Chief Operating Officer Robert McGrath will assume the position of Acting President and CEO.
 
Under Martin’s leadership, the CSO experienced one of the most artistically dynamic and financially stable periods in its 130-year history, broadened its services to the Cincinnati region through groundbreaking new performances and an inclusive approach to serving its community and ushered in a new era with the appointment of Cristian Măcelaru as the CSO’s next Music Director.
 
“The seven years of leading the CSO in Cincinnati, a community that loves and nurtures the performing arts, has been unquestionably the highlight of my 45 years in the American orchestra field,” said Martin. “I am proud of the strength of our institution and its broadened service to our community. While my decision to retire is bittersweet for me personally, it was made less so by knowing that the CSO is a strong, stable organization with fabulous musicians, an extraordinarily talented Music Director Designate, a dedicated Board of Directors and an administrative staff that is the envy of our field.”
 
Martin led the development and implementation of the CSO’s current long-term strategic plan which has resulted in innovative ways to present and experience classical music. In 2019, he oversaw the launch of CSO Proof, an incubator for pioneering new concert formats. Since the series’ inception, the CSO has presented ten CSO Proof concerts, incorporating vogue ballroom culture in Singulis et Simul (2020), multimedia in ANNO (2021), and an immersive Havana night club experience in Surrealist El Tropical (2023) among others.
 
“Jonathan is a formidable leader,” said CSO Board Chair Dianne Rosenberg. “His commitment to moving the CSO forward to embrace new opportunities and engage wider audiences has made a lasting impact on our Orchestra and our City. He leaves us with a bright future, and I am grateful to him for his dedication.”
During his tenure, Martin also greatly amplified the Orchestra’s commitment to inclusion with focused strategies to address systemic underrepresentation of BIPOC individuals in orchestral music. At Martin’s direction, the CSO became one of the first American orchestras to create, and the first to endow, a Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer position on its administrative team, ensuring the absorption of best practices into every facet of the organization. In 2021, Martin catalyzed the creation of the Orchestra’s Brady Block Parties Series, free outdoor events anchored by CSO concerts that take place in neighborhoods across Greater Cincinnati.
 
Martin serves as the leader of the combined organization of the CSO and its subsidiary, Music and Event Management, Inc. (MEMI), leading one of the most financially stable periods in the organization’s history. During Martin’s leadership, the CSO has grown its endowment funds by over $100 million and balanced its operating budgets every fiscal year for 14 consecutive years. Martin also presided over the creation of The Andrew J Brady Music Center® on the Banks in 2021 and is currently leading a multi-million dollar building campaign to replace the 40-year-old Riverbend Music Center with a new, state-of-the-art outdoor performance venue.
 
Martin’s retirement will be effective February 16, 2025. Robert McGrath, a 13-year veteran of the CSO and its Chief Operating Officer, will immediately assume the role of Acting President and CEO of the CSO. Over the next three months, Martin and McGrath will work together to facilitate a smooth transition in leadership.
 
“Robert McGrath has been a key partner of mine and an instrumental force in driving forward our strategic initiatives, fostering an exceptional, collaborative culture that makes possible our service to the community,” said Martin. “His dedication to the Orchestra and the Cincinnati community is unmatched. The future of the CSO is bright under Robert’s leadership, and I look forward to working with him as we transition roles in the coming months.”
 
As Chief Operating Officer of the CSO since 2021 and Vice President and General Manager from 2011-2021, Robert McGrath has contributed to one of the most artistically vibrant, diverse and financially stable chapters in the Orchestra’s history, overseeing a growing portfolio that encompasses artistic planning, marketing, communications, orchestra personnel, production, media and learning initiatives. Through the years, his innovative performance strategies have yielded expanded audiences and increased earned revenue, leading to 13 consecutive years of balanced operating budgets and making possible some of the CSO’s most ambitious artistic endeavors to date, including Lumenocity®, a multi-day festival of music and light-based art, and CSO Proof. Under McGrath’s leadership, the CSO also made significant strides in expanding its educational initiatives to support populations historically underrepresented in American orchestras, including the creation of the CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship in 2015 and expansion of the Nouveau program, which supports African American and Latine student musicians in classical music.
 
Robert McGrath also played a critical role in the Orchestra’s business continuity and resilience during times of transformative change, serving as key personnel in facilitating a $143 million renovation of Music Hall and the master transition plan during the 17-month construction period. He also served on search committees for new artistic leadership, resulting in the successful hires of Music Directors Louis Langrée in 2013 and Cristian Mӑcelaru in 2024, and led productive labor relations with the musicians and Local-1, American Federation of Musicians (AFM) that recently culminated in two industry-leading collective bargaining agreements in 2021 and 2024, incorporating adaptive scheduling paradigms and best practices regarding musician tenure review and auditions.
 
Notably, Robert McGrath navigated the Orchestra through the complexities of the Covid-19 pandemic and led the acceleration of strategic plans for digital content and innovation, including the creation of the Orchestra’s first-ever digital team that have managed and produced more than 100 online and broadcast programs, reaching a global audience of more than four million listeners and viewers.
 
“It has been an honor to be a part of the forward trajectory of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and I am deeply grateful to Jonathan for his leadership and guidance through the years,” said McGrath. “I am excited to partner with Cristian Măcelaru, our Board of Directors, musicians, administrative team and the community as we continue to increase our impact and relevance through music.”