Amy Williams, the new president and CEO of the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, sits down with host Cara Lieurance on Let's Hear It to talk about her path to orchestra leadership, her community-centered philosophy, and an ambitious 2026–27 season that includes a long-awaited performance of Bach's St. Matthew Passion and a visit from violin legend Itzhak Perlman.
Williams comes to Kalamazoo after six years as CEO of the Savannah Philharmonic in Georgia, where she joined in 2020, mid-pandemic, and focused on expanding a young orchestra's reach. "It was really all about how do we engage the audience and how do we build that audience experience across platforms," she says, describing her approach to programming across education, community concerts, and main stage performances.
Her personal story informs that philosophy. Williams grew up in a town of 4,000 in Massachusetts and did not hear a professional orchestra until she was a college music major — despite playing flute and then bassoon competitively throughout her youth. Her parents, she explains, felt the symphony wasn't for them: they didn't know when to clap, what to wear, or whether they could afford tickets. "What it came down to is they didn't know how to emulate the behavior," she says. That experience drives her commitment to making concert-going feel welcoming to everyone.
Three weeks into her role, Williams is energized by what she's found. The KSO delivers roughly 160 performances per season — from main stage masterworks at Miller Auditorium to school visits, library musical storybooks, and community concerts — reaching more than 44,000 people and 26,000 students annually through education programming. "For an orchestra of this size, it has some of the most elaborate programs in the United States," she says.
The 2026–27 season opens in September with Mozart and Stravinsky, followed by Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony featuring Ella Eom, gold medalist of the 2026 Stulberg Competition. November brings conductor Julian Kuerti back for a Brahms and Beethoven program. Itzhak Perlman's appearance is in April for Cinema Serenade. Another milestone is Bach's St. Matthew Passion — originally scheduled for spring 2020 before the pandemic intervened.
Director of Marketing Sydney Schless notes that symphony subscriptions, starting at just three concerts, are on sale now at kalamazoosymphony.com.
The interview was summarized by Claude AI and edited by the author.
