ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The Alexandria Symphony Orchestra has named Rhonda Buckley-Bishop its interim executive director, bringing in a veteran nonprofit leader as the orchestra looks for permanent leadership both on and off the stage.
Buckley-Bishop began this month, the ASO announced Thursday. She most recently held an interim leadership role at Washington National Cathedral and has spent 30 years in the nonprofit sector, including as interim executive director and CEO at nonprofits, associations and academic institutions in the Washington region and elsewhere, according to the orchestra.
She succeeds George Hanson, who left June 30 after seven years as executive director. When it announced his departure, the ASO said it was preparing to select its next music director and to announce a new executive leadership team in 2027. The orchestra credited Hanson with leading the Making Music Together capital campaign, which raised $1.8 million, and with negotiating the ASO's collective bargaining agreement with its musicians, which it called the first such agreement in a generation. It also said season subscription sales had grown nearly 40% since the pandemic.
"This is a truly exciting time in ASO's history," said Laurie MacNamara, president of the ASO Board of Trustees. "Rhonda brings the combination of expertise, experience, and passion for our work that makes her the perfect leader for us as we continue to build the means to meet our mission of bringing the highest-quality classical music to our community."
The ASO said Buckley-Bishop will work with the board, staff, musicians and community partners to provide continuity and strengthen the orchestra's operations.
She holds bachelor's and master's degrees in music from Michigan State University and a Master of General Administration, with an emphasis in nonprofit management, from the University of Maryland University College. She is a classical saxophonist and still performs.
She arrives as the orchestra begins its first season without James Ross, who stepped down as music director after the 2025-26 season and is now music director laureate. This season, four guest conductors will each lead one of the ASO's concert pairs: Louis Lohraseb, Chia-Hsuan Lin, Andrew Crust and James Blachly. In announcing Hanson's departure, the orchestra said the results of its music director search, on which Hanson served as artistic adviser, would be shared with audiences during the 2026-27 season.
The season also marks 25 years of ASO performances at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center. The orchestra, founded during World War II, presents five concert pairs each season, with Saturday evening performances at the Schlesinger Center and Sunday matinees at the George Washington Masonic National Memorial.
Lohraseb opens the season Saturday, Sept. 26, at 7:30 p.m. at the Schlesinger Center, with a repeat Sunday, Sept. 27, at 3 p.m. at the Masonic Memorial. Violinist Chee-Yun Kim will perform Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto on a program that also includes Wagner's "Tannhauser" Overture, the Entr'acte to Act III of Bizet's "Carmen" and the 1919 suite from Stravinsky's "The Firebird."
Lin conducts in November, Crust in February and Blachly in April. The December holiday pops concerts will be led by a guest conductor who has not been announced.
Tickets and subscriptions are available at alexsym.org or by calling 703-548-0885.
Ryan Belmore is an Alexandria resident and the founder and publisher of The Alexandria Brief. Send tips, feedback, and story ideas to ryan@alexandriabrief.com.
