Eight-year tenure marked by pandemic-era financial stability, expanded donor support and new collaborations with other arts organizations.
EarRelevant Staff | 24 OCT 2026
FORT WORTH, Texas— Keith Cerny, president and CEO of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, will leave the organization in January 2027 to take another chief executive position with an out-of-state arts organization, the orchestra announced Oct. 22.
Cerny’s departure ends an eight-year tenure marked by efforts to strengthen the orchestra’s finances, expand its donor base and broaden its artistic partnerships.
One of the most consequential periods came during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the orchestra continued presenting live concerts while maintaining full pay and benefits for musicians and staff. The symphony reported a $330,000 surplus over the three-year period, under Cerny’s leadership and in collaboration with board Chairwoman Mercedes T. Bass.
Artistically, Cerny worked with Music Director Robert Spano to develop programming that extended beyond conventional orchestral performances. The orchestra’s “Theater of a Concert” series incorporated elements such as dance, projections, actors and singers, bringing guest artists and orchestra musicians together onstage.
He also developed partnerships with Fort Worth-area cultural institutions and other arts organizations, including the Kimbell Art Museum, the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Dallas Black Dance Theatre and Dallas Theater Center. Among the projects he cited as personal highlights were performances of three Stravinsky ballets with three different dance companies over three seasons, a program built around Shakespeare with Dallas Theater Center, and a three-year partnership with the Kimbell.
Cerny also reshaped the orchestra’s business model, expanding its Pops programming with an emphasis on concerts that generate operating margins while restructuring or eliminating programs that lost money.
His most measurable institutional initiative has been an expansion of the orchestra’s board and donor base. Since the start of the 2024-25 season, the organization has added 50 supporters to its board, bringing membership to 83. Board giving, excluding contributions from Bass, has more than quadrupled since the initiative began, according to the orchestra.
Bass said Cerny helped raise the orchestra’s national and international profile and strengthened its artistic and administrative operations. She said the organization would seek a successor with substantial chief executive experience to lead its existing administrative team and work with Spano.
A search committee has been established, and the search for the next president and CEO will begin immediately, the orchestra said.
Cerny, a lifelong musician, said he valued the opportunity to explore collaborations with other arts organizations and to work with the orchestra’s musicians, staff and board. He said he would miss the Fort Worth organization after transitioning to his new role.
Kyle Sherman, the orchestra’s principal trumpet and chair of its Musicians Players Committee, praised Cerny’s support for musicians, particularly during the pandemic, and his focus on innovative programming and artistic quality. ■
EXTERNAL LINKS:
- Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra: fwsymphony.org
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