Berkshire Magazine Spring 2026 | Página 10

10 minutes with... Chad Smith

When Chad Smith was chosen as the new CEO of the Boston Symphony Orchestra( BSO) in 2023, his return to Massachusetts was both a professional milestone and a cultural homecoming. After earning his undergraduate degree in European History at Tufts University and proving his artistic acumen at New England Conservatory’ s graduate vocal performance program, Smith spent more than two decades at the Los Angeles Philharmonic, ultimately serving as CEO after rising through six roles. Smith now serves as President and CEO of the BSO. Along with the BSO, he oversees the Boston Pops and Tanglewood with the perspective of a conservatorytrained musician and a seasoned institutional leader. As of last year, that leadership role now extends beyond the walls of Symphony Hall and the Shed: Smith has also played a pivotal role in strengthening regional collaboration through the Berkshire Arts and Culture Alliance( BACA), a coalition of ten major Berkshire cultural organizations formed to advocate for shared economic and infrastructure priorities.( See sidebar.) While speaking with Berkshire Magazine, Smith reflected on his return to Boston, the intensity and magic of Tanglewood, and the long-term vision of welcoming new generations into the evolving world of music.
KAYANA SZYMCZAK
Chad, how does it feel to be back in Boston and the Berkshires? I was born and raised in Pennsylvania— but I feel like I’ m an adopted Bostonian. When I finished high school in Gettysburg and moved to Boston to go to Tufts and New England Conservatory, I felt like I had found my place, and I fell in love with the city. Boston is not only one of the cradles of liberty and of American history, but it has such a remarkable cultural and intellectual community. My eyes and ears were totally opened. I remember
the first time I walked across the street to go to Symphony Hall and heard the Boston Symphony play. Seiji Ozawa was music director at that point. It imprinted on me in a pretty important way. The Boston Symphony became the sound of an orchestra for me, and Symphony Hall was what a hall was supposed to look like— and I carried that with me.
I moved away for work, first to Miami, working for a small orchestra there, and then to the Los Angeles Philharmonic, where I was for 22 years. I had
six different jobs over the course of 22 years, the last being CEO. It was a way for me to see how transformation within an organization happens, how leadership drives that transformation, and how mission- and arts-focused work is so broadly impactful. When the opportunity to become CEO of the BSO presented itself, something in me resonated. My partner and I had been in LA for a long time, and while it was my home, there was something powerful about the opportunity of running the
Boston Symphony, and running it at this time.
So, we picked up and moved here. Boston is familiar— the streets, the architecture— but the city has changed. The academic community has changed, the research community is vibrant, the BSO has changed, and its relationship with the city has changed. For me, it’ s like reading a novel after 20 years. It’ s the same words, but its meaning is different.
When I walked onto the campus at Tanglewood for the first time, it was a strange
8 // BERKSHIRE MAGAZINE Spring 2026