Last week the Chicago Philharmonic Society announced the appointment of a new executive director, Terell M. Johnson. A classically trained musician as well as an administrator, he'll succeed another musician-turned-administrator, Donna Milanovich, who's retiring after ten years in that job—and more as a Chi Phil flutist and board member.
They were both in the limited audience at the Harris Theater Saturday night for a revelatory recording session that combined the Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra, under guest conductor Adrian Dunn, with the Adrian Dunn Singers. Johnson told me the resulting symphonic/gospel mashup is the kind of innovative programming that'll carry Chicago Philharmonic into the future.