Jack Fishman began his position as Executive Director of the Baltimore Choral Arts Society on October 20, 2017. Prior to this position, he was Vice President, External Affairs, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at the Music Center at Strathmore in Montgomery County from January 2014. Fishman was President and CEO of the San Antonio Symphony from September 2008.  Prior to San Antonio, he was Executive Director of the Long Beach (CA) Symphony for eight seasons, the Amarillo (TX) Symphony for six seasons and Orchestra Manager of the Jacksonville (FL) Symphony for four years. 

During his tenure in San Antonio, Fishman’s overhaul of the Symphony’s marketing strategies increased the number of subscribers by 60% in three years. He launched an extensive social and electronic media campaign, including writing a daily Symphony blog hosted by the San Antonio Express-News which became one of the most read blogs in the city. He also volunteered weekly as a coach of middle school string students.

During his tenure in California, he raised significant funding for the orchestra’s two major commissioning projects—one creating a work inspired by the permanent collection of the Museum of Latin America Art and one featuring the orchestra’s five woodwind principals in a concerto. He also produced and hosted a cable television show called Conversations with the Maestro that aired weekly.

During his six seasons as Executive Director of the Amarillo Symphony, Fishman launched a new major fundraising initiative called The Beethoven Society that increased gifts from individuals by 180% in two seasons and created a week-long ensemble residency program in elementary schools. He planned the orchestra’s 75th anniversary season that included a commissioned work inspired by West Texas history that became a nationally-broadcast television special on PBS and a best-selling CD on the Naxos label. During the 1998-1999 season he was president of the Texas Plains Chapter - National Society of Fund Raising Executives.                  

Fishman received his B.M. and M.M. degrees in music performance on the double bass from The Juilliard School in New York. He performed in several professional orchestras for a decade, including the Florida Symphony Orchestra in Orlando and the Puerto Rico Symphony.  His wife, Paula, is a violist and a violin and viola teacher and their 24-year old daughter (also is a violinist) works in marketing in Washington DC. They have one dog, a border collie mix, and Jack’s hobbies include cooking long multi-course dinners and reading.