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 She became the first woman to
manage a major American orchestra when named the
New York Philharmonic's executive director in
1991. Her resume is filled with the top posts at
the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Saint Paul Chamber
Orchestra and Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
A former professional violist, Borda has called
these pandemic months "the single biggest
crisis" the New York Philharmonic has faced in
its 178-year history. The orchestra canceled its
2020/2021 season, anticipating a loss of $20
million in ticket revenue.
After the orchestra's last concert on March 10,
Borda thought the music would stop for a few
weeks.
"Eight months later, here we are," said Borda,
who was named president and chief executive of
the New York Philharmonic in 2017.
But Borda is optimistic: "I always say, 'We
survived the Civil War, two World Wars and the
Spanish Flu epidemic, so we will be back.'"
Borda spoke to Reuters about how her work and
life philosophy guides her through the pandemic.
Below are edited excerpts.
What was your very first job?
In 1975, I was the manager of a group called
Boston Musica Viva, which specialized in very
avant garde contemporary music. I was the entire
management: I was the finance director, the
marketing director, the personnel manager, the
tour manager, the fundraiser. I was a mini-CEO.
The problem was, I had no staff to delegate to,
and that's a very formative experience.
What is your biggest work-life challenge?
Work-life balance. Running these iconic
large-scale institutions is more a way of life
than a regular job. You're essentially on call
24/7 because in the performing arts, things
happen day and night. You might have a soloist
getting sick or a financial problem or a tour
issue.
What compounds that is that so much of our work
takes place at night because performances are at
night. You go to the office during the day, you
go to the performances and then very often you
entertain people after the performance, whether
it's fundraisers or musicians. It's a job you
live.
How do I deal with it? I simply try to enjoy it.
Who are your mentors?
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 The (former) general manager of
the San Francisco Symphony, Peter Pastreich.
Peter believed in me, promoted me throughout the
organization and advised me throughout my
career.
The Finnish conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen is an
aesthetic mentor to me. He's somebody I talk to
on a regular basis about the aesthetics of
music.
What's the best piece of job advice you've
received. Always be honest.
That's how I try to live my life.
How have you found yourself thinking or doing
things differently in 2020?
My life has totally changed. I used to sometimes
only see my place when it was time to sleep. But
now I'm working at home, keeping our team
together through constant Zoom meetings, working
twice as hard to communicate. It is endless.
You would think that without us putting any
concerts on, there'd be less to do, but I've
never been busier in my life, from trying to
raise additional money, to making decisions
about cancellations and looking at the future of
David Geffen Hall (which is undergoing a
multi-year renovation).
I'm working 12-hour days on a regular basis, six
days a week sometimes.
Now that you are working from home, what is your
set up?
I've always liked to keep a home office. I do a
lot of writing. I need to do that outside of the
hurly burly of the regular office. I upgraded my
printer and my laptop, but,
otherwise, it was all set.
We figured out where to do interviews for TV.
I'm in a small room that has a very mellow color
to it. There's a watercolor of a very restful
island in Maine behind me, so it doesn't look
corporate.
What advice do you have for those who are trying
to navigate this changing world today?
Try to believe there will be a future because
there is going to be a future.
(Editing by Lauren Young and Richard Chang)
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