David Hyslop

Owner, Hyslop & Associates

Speaking at Annual Meeting and Closing Luncheon

David Hyslop's 60-year career in arts management includes 32 years as Chief Executive Officer for three of the nation's top symphony orchestras: the Minnesota Orchestra (1991–2003), St. Louis Symphony (1978–1991), and Oregon Symphony (1972–1978). During his tenures in Minneapolis and St. Louis, he also oversaw the operation of Orchestra Hall and Powell Hall, respectively.

Since 2004, Hyslop has led a wide-ranging consulting practice, serving as interim CEO or executive director for more than a dozen organizations, including the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, Omaha Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Reno Philharmonic, Albany Symphony, Orlando Philharmonic, South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, Stockton Symphony, Sun Valley Summer Symphony, and Dallas Summer Musicals. He most recently served as Senior Advisor to the Dallas Symphony Board Chair during a CEO transition. His consulting work also encompasses executive searches, strategic planning, and development of feasibility studies for organizations including the Santa Fe Opera, Amarillo Symphony, and West Virginia Symphony Orchestra.

Hyslop has served on the boards of the League of American Orchestras, Greater Minneapolis Convention and Visitors Association, and Minneapolis Downtown Council, and is a life trustee of the Minnesota State Fair Foundation. He has collaborated with CH Johnson Consulting, The Catherine French Group, WolfBrown, and The Arts Consulting Group.

His many honors include a Martha Baird Rockefeller Grant in Performing Arts Management from the League of American Orchestras, the endowment of the David J. Hyslop Trumpet Chair in perpetuity by the St. Louis Symphony, and a commissioned work—Fanfare for D.H. by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Joseph Schwantner—marking his tenth anniversary with that orchestra. In October 2023, he received a lifetime achievement award from his alma mater, Ithaca College. 

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