Tony Woodcock
NEC President, 2007–
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Tony Woodcock became president of New England Conservatory in June 2007. Trained as a violinist, he is an arts manager who became known as an orchestra “doctor” after accomplishing the turnaround of several symphonic ensembles both in the UK and the United States. Most recently president of the Minnesota Orchestra, Woodcock switched gears to take his first higher education post with the NEC presidency.
Born in Egypt, he grew up in the Middle East, England, and Wales, where he studied music at University College, Cardiff. After leaving the university, Woodcock took positions with regional music promoters, and later ran the newly opened St. David's Hall, the National Concert Hall and Conference Centre of Wales.
Before coming to the United States, Woodcock held top positions with the City of London Sinfonia/Richard Hickox Singers, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. In Liverpool, he played a significant role in planning the 150th anniversary and commissioned Paul McCartney to write his first-ever classical piece, The Liverpool Oratorio.
In 1998, Woodcock was invited to take over the Oregon Symphony, which was recovering from a musicians’ strike. Woodcock reestablished harmonious relations between board and players, developed a new five-year strategic plan, created the transition plan for the music director’s retirement, and concluded a new music director search.
After joining the Minnesota Orchestra in 2003, Woodcock crafted a financial restructuring plan to reduce the $4.5 million deficit, bringing it to break-even for the first time in 10 years. He secured the lead gift in the current capital campaign and increased concert attendance from 58% to 72%.
Deeply committed to education, Woodcock led the Minnesota Orchestra to win back-to-back ASCAP Leonard Bernstein Awards for Excellence in Educational Programming and secured underwriting to make the orchestra’s popular family series admission-free.
updated 25 October 2007