San Francisco Ballet Executive Director Glenn McCoy to Retire Following the 2019 Season

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- San Francisco Ballet has announced that Glenn McCoy will retire as the organization's longtime executive director following the 2019 Season. McCoy's retirement will conclude a more than 30-year career during which he led the Ballet to financial strength and operational excellence.

"Working for the Ballet these thirty plus years has been the greatest honor and pleasure of my life, but the time has come for me to step aside," McCoy said. "My greatest wish is that San Francisco Ballet continues to prosper and be held in the highest regard." His retirement plans include a move to Sonoma.

San Francisco Ballet Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson complimented McCoy. The two have worked closely together for three decades. "Glenn is a friend as well as a colleague. His talent for financial and operational management has enabled me to focus on the company's repertory and provided the freedom to implement my artistic vision for the Ballet."

Tomasson also expressed gratitude for McCoy's unwavering support and dedication to the organization. "I will miss him when he retires. We all will. But at least we have these next nine months to work together as we prepare for our touring engagements to Washington D.C. and New York in the fall, the 2018 Nutcracker performances, our very exciting 2019 Season, and preliminary planning for 2020."

"San Francisco Ballet owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to Glenn," said Carl F. Pascarella, Chair of the Ballet's Board of Trustees. "Under his leadership, the company is organizationally stronger than ever and just finished its best year financially and artistically in its 85-year history."

Pascarella also lauded McCoy for his decision to remain as executive director through the 2019 season. "It is typical of Glenn. He has always put the Ballet first. The long lead time to find his replacement gives us continuing executive leadership and stability as we manage this transition."

McCoy, who is renowned for being genial and self-effacing, said the collegial feeling is mutual. "Working with Helgi, whose artistic vision is so clearly articulated and who continues to surprise you by pushing the company forward artistically without sacrificing our classical roots, is just inspiring. I have been very lucky to work with him, as well as an incredibly passionate and supportive Board of Trustees."

Glenn McCoy's Career

Glenn McCoy's career in the performing arts spans nearly 40 years of operations management and marketing in ballet and opera. He first joined San Francisco Ballet in 1987, and during his tenure he has held the positions of company manager, general manager, and managing director. He was elected to the position of executive director in April 2002.

McCoy has overseen the production of more than 130 new repertory and full-length ballets for San Francisco Ballet and more than 50 domestic and international tours, including engagements at the Palais Garnier in Paris; London's Royal Opera House; The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC.; and the New York State Theater. McCoy supervised SF Ballet's operations for the critically acclaimed international dance festival, UNited We Dance in 1995, San Francisco Ballet's 75^th Anniversary Season in 2008, and the Company's Unbound: A Festival of New Works in 2018. He also oversaw the tapings of Lar Lubovitch's Othello; Helgi Tomasson's Nutcracker and Romeo & Juliet; and John Neumeier's The Little Mermaid, which have been broadcast on PBS by Thirteen/WNET New York's performing arts series Great Performances.

Prior to joining San Francisco Ballet, McCoy held marketing positions at the San Francisco Opera and at The Metropolitan Opera in New York City, where as advertising manager he was responsible for promoting The Met seasons of American Ballet Theatre, as well as other international dance companies including Paris Opéra Ballet, The Royal Ballet, the Bolshoi Ballet, and Japan's Grand Kabuki.

McCoy has served on the Board of Trustees of Dance/USA, the national service organization for professional dance. A native of New Bern, North Carolina, McCoy earned his bachelor of arts degree in theater and communication arts from Appalachian State University in North Carolina.

San Francisco Ballet

As America's oldest professional ballet company, San Francisco Ballet has enjoyed a long and rich tradition of artistic "firsts" since its founding in 1933, including performing the first American productions of Swan Lake and Nutcracker, as well as the first 20th-century American Coppélia. SF Ballet is one of the three largest ballet companies in the United States and currently presents more than 100 performances annually, both locally and internationally. The mission of SF Ballet is to share its joy of dance with the widest possible audience—in its community and worldwide—and to provide the highest caliber of dance training in its School. Under the direction of Helgi Tomasson, the Company has achieved an international reputation as one of the preeminent ballet companies in the world. For more information, visit sfballet.org.

SOURCE San Francisco Ballet

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