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Executive Assistant to the Music Director

Artistic Operations

Artistic Planning

Work Status:

Full Time

FLSA Status:

Exempt

Location of Job:

Davies Symphony Hall

San Francisco, CA 

Salary:

Pay Grade H

$84,486 – 91,940

Schedule:

Hybrid

Regular Hours:

9 am-5 pm; regular evenings and weekends

Reports To:             

Senior Director, Artistic Planning

Supervisory:

No

THE ORGANIZATION

The San Francisco Symphony is among the most adventurous and innovative arts institutions in the United States, celebrated for its artistic excellence, creative performance concepts, award-winning recordings, and standard-setting education and community engagement programs. Since it was established in 1911, the Symphony has grown in acclaim under a succession of distinguished music directors: Henry Hadley, Alfred Hertz, Basil Cameron, Issay Dobrowen, Pierre Monteux, Enrique Jordá, Josef Krips, Seiji Ozawa, Edo de Waart, Herbert Blomstedt, Michael Tilson Thomas, and Esa-Pekka Salonen. In May 2026, the Symphony announced Elim Chan as the 13th Music Director in its 115-year history, beginning with the 2027–28 season. One of the most sought-after artists of her generation, Elim Chan embodies the spirit of contemporary orchestral leadership with her crystalline precision and expressive zeal.  

The San Francisco Symphony presents more than 200 concerts and presentations annually for an audience of nearly 350,000 in its home of Davies Symphony Hall and around the Bay Area. The Orchestra performs a robust schedule of core classical concerts from September through June, and offers a dynamic mix of holiday programs, groundbreaking SoundBox performances, chamber concerts, guest artist recitals, live-to-film presentations, popular artist collaborations, a month-long summer series, and other special events that invite audiences across the Bay Area to connect with the Symphony in ways that resonate with their interests, experiences, and traditions.

As a cornerstone of its mission, the San Francisco Symphony provides some of the most extensive education and community programs offered by any American orchestra. The Symphony’s free music education experiences engage students in grades 1–12 throughout the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), serving more than 25,000 students annually.

In 2001, the SF Symphony became the first American orchestra to launch its own in-house record label, SFS Media. Recorded live in concert and engineered at Davies Symphony Hall, SFS Media recordings showcase music by contemporary composers as well as core classical masterworks. In 2023, the San Francisco Symphony partnered with Apple for the launch of a new classical music streaming app, Apple Music Classical, and has since released 17 spatial audio recordings of live concert performances through the app. San Francisco Symphony radio broadcasts, the first in the nation to feature symphonic music when they began in 1926, today carry the Orchestra’s concerts across the country. In 2004, the SF Symphony launched the groundbreaking multimedia Keeping Score series on PBS-TV and the web; the series was made available for unlimited free streaming on the Symphony’s YouTube channel in 2020. In 2014, the San Francisco Symphony inaugurated SoundBox, an experimental and eclectic live music series, which takes place in an alternative performance space located backstage at Davies Symphony Hall. For its adventurous programming, the Symphony has been honored 19 times by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, and the Symphony’s recordings have garnered France’s Grand Prix du Disque and Britain’s Gramophone Award, as well as 17 Grammy® Awards.

JOB SUMMARY

The Executive Assistant to the Music Director provides executive administration for the San Francisco Symphony’s Music Director (MD). The position serves as the main point of contact for internal and external constituents and oversees the day-to-day operations of the Music Director’s Office. The position facilitates communication, troubleshoots and maintains relationships with key stakeholders and associates to support the SFS’ and MD’s artistic goals and objectives. The position works with the Senior Director of Artistic Planning (SDAP) and other department heads to help MD prioritize meetings and requests. This position also provides project management and administrative support to the Artistic Planning team, especially in periods when the Music Director is not present in San Francisco

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provides all executive administration for MD. Oversees daily operations of the office of the Music Director (MD) at the Symphony and liaises regularly with MD’s management to ensure calendars and schedules are coordinated.
• Provides focused support at every SFS rehearsal, concert, and meeting involving the MD to ensure smooth participation at events.
• Maintains and coordinates MD’s SFS and yearly calendar and schedule: rehearsals, concerts, community appearances, fundraising events, receptions, meetings with staff members, board constituents, musicians, guest artists, etc.
• Prepares MD for appointments, meetings and rehearsals: Manages schedule distribution among staff and departments. Maintains open and direct communication with all branches of the San Francisco Symphony on behalf of the MD. 
• Assists MD with project notes and edits.
• Acts as liaison to symphony librarians and works with library to keep current the status of MD’s orchestral parts and scores.
• Supports Artistic Operations department on semi-staged programs and other MD initiatives as assigned.
• Performs musical research and production assistance on special projects as needed.
• Serve as primary liaison with all SFS departments/staff to assist with matters such as requests for personal appearances/interviews, scheduling of auditions, meetings for various operational issues (staging, tour requirements, etc.), and related issues.  Prioritizes requests to ensure most efficient use of Music Director’s time.
• Keeps MD informed and updated without regard to location, either onsite at the SFS or at other locations.
• Ensures that administrative and personal support needs are met, including correspondence, record-keeping, ticketing requests, travel arrangements, etc. 
• Manages MD’s guests and visitors. 
• Acts as liaison with staff of other major music institutions and the MD’s management, including other organizations with which the MD has artistic and business relationships.
• Provides secondary administrative support to SDAP and Artistic Planning team primarily in weeks when the MD is not present in San Francisco.
• Arrange, accompany, and facilitate seamless local ground transportation and travel logistics for the Music Director in connection with Symphony functions.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• A minimum of 3-5 years’ experience working as part of an Artistic Planning/Operations Team, or as an Executive Assistant to a CEO/Music Director (or to someone of an equally high level), ideally in the world of classical music.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Excellent computer skills, including Microsoft Word, Excel, Access and Power Point.
• Ability to professionally and diplomatically communicate and interact with a wide variety of internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to collaborate effectively in a team environment.
• Strong situational awareness; able to work discreetly, independently and display good judgment in dealing with diverse personalities and potentially difficult situations. 
• Valid California driver’s license preferred and satisfactory results of a complete background investigation.
• Must be available to regularly work flexible hours, particularly weekends and evenings.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

None

WORKING RELATIONSHIPS

The internal and external constituents with whom this position most frequently interacts include:

• Artistic Planning team
• Artistic Operations, Development, and Communication departments
• Chief Executive Officer and their Executive Assistant
• All other SFS administrative departments
• Music Director
• Music Director’s management team
• Guests and visitors of the Music Director
• SFS Board members
• Guest artists

EEO STATEMENT

In alignment with the values statement above, the San Francisco Symphony is committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy (including childbirth, lactation and related medical conditions), national origin, age, physical and mental disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information (including characteristics and testing), military and veteran status, and any other characteristic protected by applicable law.