Artist Series Concerts/Managing Director John Fischer Announces His Retirement After 17 Years Of Service

John Fischer, managing director of Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota, has announced that he will retire in June following the organization's 2018-19 season. He will have served as the organization's managing director for 17 years. The search for a new executive director to replace Fischer will begin soon and the organization has also adopted a new mission that will go into full effect next season. A complete job description, list of qualifications and details about applying for the executive director position are available online at www.ArtistSeriesConcerts.org/work-with-us/.

Artist Series Concerts has been a long, thrilling, and fulfilling ride for John Fischer, who first joined the organization back in 2001. "When I arrived at what was then Artist Series of Sarasota, we presented five concerts each season with a meager annual budget of $25,000," says Fischer. "Since then, we've grown to 29 concerts and an annual budget of approximately $650,000, which financially puts us in the top ten of Sarasota's concert presenters."

Much has been happening "behind the curtain" since May, when Fischer informed the organization's board of trustees of his intention to retire in June of 2019. Fischer and interim Board Chair Jane Hunder embarked soon after on a comprehensive strategic assessment, conducted under the guidance of consultant and former Ringling performance curator Dwight Currie. "Much of the process has involved a look at our mission, how we have executed it, how we might tighten our focus as a presenter of live concerts, and what will likely be needed going forward in order to steer Artist Series Concerts successfully through the challenges of an ever-changing arts environment," says Ms. Hunder. "This also led to the question of just what sort of leadership will be needed to best serve our new mission and the organization's future."

Coming up with that new, tighter mission was a no-brainer for the team: "Encouraging and promoting young talent has always been a top priority for us," says Fischer. "As we've grown over the years, we've had the immense pleasure of presenting, both in competition and in performance, many young artists on the cusp of national and international prominence. Based on those success stories, we've decided to place emphasis on supporting young artists by providing them with more performance opportunities here on the Suncoast." The following new mission was unveiled to major donors and supporters on December 2:

Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota promotes excellence in live musical performances by presenting acknowledged stars of the next generation to audiences of Florida's Gulf Coast.

Actualization of the new mission will begin with the 2019-2020 season via new collaborations with such prestigious cultivators of young talent as Young Concert Artists International, Juilliard, Curtis Institute and others. They'll play an essential role in identifying exceptional emerging talent for Artist Series Concerts to bring to its performance season. The Suncoast Music Scholarships, conducted in partnership with the Sarasota Music Club, will continue to support promising area high school students while the organization's national competition will take a pause while the strategic assessment continues.

The regional search for a new executive director will also begin very soon. "The job description, qualifications and instructions for applying have been posted to our website and, while John's will be very large shoes to fill, we also know that there is an immense pool of talent in this region and we're confident that the right candidate is out there," says Hunder. "We hope to have a new person in place by May 1, 2019 so they'll be able to work with John, artistic director Joseph Holt, co-founder Lee Dougherty Ross and the rest of the staff before John's departure at the end of June."

As for John Fischer, while he's eager to retire, he'll always look back on many fond memories with Artist Series Concerts: "It has been a joy to spend these years and so many waking moments in support of Artist Series Concerts and see it take a significant place in the cultural fabric of Sarasota, and to leave it well-placed for a bright future."

Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota's 2018-2019 season, which runs through May 2019, features 19 more performances at a variety of venues throughout Sarasota County. Concerts cover a wide range of musical offerings, including classical recitals, pops, jazz and cabaret concerts, chamber soirées and the popular Lunch & Listen series. Tickets are available at www.ArtistSeriesConcerts.org or by calling 941-306-1202.

About John Fischer

Michigan native John Fischer became captivated with music very early on and by age sixteen was performing on a vintage theatre pipe organ on weekends in his hometown. With the belief that music could be an enduring pleasure but not necessarily a stable or lucrative career, he entered college and majored in marketing.

After college he spent ten years with the St. Louis-based Brown Shoe Company and was ultimately responsible for advertising and visual presentations in a twenty-six unit retail division. Fischer left Brown to invest in a commercial printing company in suburban Detroit, where he specialized in creating marketing and fund-raising programs for arts and educational organizations, including the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Michigan Opera Theatre, Cranbrook Educational Community, Detroit Country Day School, the Lyric Chamber Ensemble and Fan Club for the Arts.

For eight years Fischer was Marketing Director for Hammell Music, Michigan's exclusive representatives for Steinway pianos in Michigan, northern Ohio and Indiana.

After his first retirement in 2001, Fischer and his partner chose to make their home in Sarasota for the rich cultural opportunities the area offers. Their Sarasota residence was custom built to showcase their three grand pianos as well as a vintage 1923 three-keyboard, 42-rank pipe organ. The home serves as the venue for Artist Series Concerts' popular Soiree series, as well as many other musical performances.

In addition to his leadership role with Artist Series Concerts, Fischer has served as treasurer of the Seminole District of the Florida Federation of Music Clubs, Sarasota Orchestra Friends, and the Sarasota Opera Guild. He is a former president of the Manasota Theatre Organ Society and is currently treasurer of the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County and assistant treasurer for the Sarasota Music Club. He is also a former officer and board member of the Southwest Florida Association of Fundraising Professionals.

About Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota

Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota was formed in 1996 as Artist Series of Sarasota. The non-profit organization presents world-class musical experiences in a diverse range of genres, including classical, cabaret, pop, Broadway, orchestral and opera. A central focus of Artist Series Concerts' mission is to support the professional careers of exemplary emerging artists by presenting them to the audiences of Florida's Gulf Coast. The organization also seeks to spark a lifelong love of the musical arts by exposing young people to interactive music experiences via performance-based outreach programs in area schools, creating unique learning opportunities for hundreds of students and educators each year. In addition, Artist Series Concerts has awarded more than $300,000 to nearly 300 gifted young musicians from around the country and in Sarasota and Manatee counties. Past winners have gone on to study at leading music conservatories and pursue successful music careers. For more information, visit www.ArtistSeriesConcerts.org.

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