Jul 22, 2022
A conversation with art industry leader Aubrey Bergauer on the state of the classical music industry and how we can positively impact the future of our musical community.
MORE ABOUT AUBREY BERGAUER (bio below):
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Aubrey Bergauer, Biography
“Redefining the classical concert experience” —Southwest Airlines magazine
Hailed as “the Steve Jobs of classical music” (Observer) and “the Sheryl Sandberg of the symphony” (LA Review of Books), Aubrey Bergauer is known for her results-driven, customer-centric, data-obsessed pursuit of changing the narrative for the performing arts. A “dynamic administrator” with an “unquenchable drive for canny innovation” (San Francisco Chronicle), her leadership as Executive Director of the California Symphony propelled the organization to double the size of its audience and nearly quadruple the donor base.
In 2019, the side hustle became the main hustle as she moved her consulting practice full time and has now served dozens of clients across artistic disciplines, geographies, and budgets up to $300M. Bergauer’s ability to cast and communicate vision moves large teams forward and brings stakeholders together across the institution, earning her “a reputation for coming up with great ideas and then realizing them” (San Francisco Classical Voice). Her drive to see opportunity in place of unsolvable challenges or irreversible trends produces different results than the norm, secures new revenue streams, and galvanizes audiences and donors. Bergauer builds strategic plans and organizations, leverages technology and new media to elevate and extend the brand, and prioritizes diversity and inclusion to create a stronger product on stage and off.
A graduate of Rice University with degrees in Music Performance and Business, her work and leadership has been covered in national publications including Entrepreneur, Thrive Global, Wall Street Journal, and Southwest Airlines and Symphony magazines, and she is a frequent speaker at universities and conferences including TEDx, Adobe’s Magento, the League of American Orchestras, Opera America, Chorus America, Classical:NEXT, APAP (Association of Performing Arts Professionals), Deutscher Orchestertag, and Orchestras Canada.