Paul Jan Zdunek
After working with the Pasadena Symphony Association as a crisis management consultant, Paul Jan Zdunek was offered the position of CEO in December 2008. Within months of his appointment, Zdunek designed an 18-month Recovery Plan for the PSA that institutes a best-practices approach within a fiscally responsible budget to produce a financially stable organization by September 2010. From 2003, Zdunek served as President & CEO of the Modesto Symphony Orchestra Association. Since then the MSOA has grown its operational budget by 60%, created pioneering Arts Access Initiatives that have greatly increased visibility and community outreach within the region, increased concert attendance for the Friends & Family Series by 70%, formed a more diverse and engaged Board of Directors, diversified and significantly increased contributions while expanding earned revenue by 65%, completed the full incorporation of a youth orchestra into the MSOA, renovated and successfully negotiated a management contract with the newly owned historic State Theatre of Modesto and created an operational budget savings of over 30% in one year without cutting program or staff and adding new initiatives and activities that promote the MSOA in the community. Additionally, he and the MSOA had been invited by the Kennedy Center and SBC to join twenty-two other orchestras all of sizes from around the country to help redefine the way orchestras do business in a program entitled: Sustaining the American Orchestra. Recently the MSOA received a multi-year capacity building grant from the Irvine Foundation that serves to broaden the audience base and deepen current constituents’ experiences. Zdunek came to the MSOA from Mankato Kasota Stone, Inc. in Minnesota, where he served as Director of Professional Relations & Business Development and was responsible for creating new branding and marketing initiatives, establishing new domestic and international business markets and serving on the Senior Executive Council for Long Range and Strategic Planning. Prior to this, he served as Artistic Director of the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies, where he established new performance standards for the nation’s largest youth orchestra. Under Zdunek’s leadership GTCYS tripled its audience base, increased local and national media coverage and repositioned itself in the community. Zdunek served as Executive Director and Artistic Director of the Greater Baltimore Youth Orchestra from 1994-97. During his tenure membership grew 30%. He was Executive Director/Founder of the Young Artists Concert Series from 1989-1992, creating and producing Maryland’s only concert series solely dedicated to showcasing young musical talent. Mr. Zdunek served as Arts Critic for Stage Right, a Baltimore-based Arts magazine. His experiences as principal and guest conductor include The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Opera Vivente! (Baltimore, MD) and the Baltimore Chamber Chorale. Zdunek has received several awards including ASOL’s Music Alive! and an ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming. Paul Jan Zdunek received his Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting from the Cleveland Institute of Music, a Bachelor of Music in Composition from the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University and a Certificat d’Etudes in Composition and Conducting from the American Conservatory in France. He currently teaches Human Resources Management within the Master of Arts Administration program at Goucher College (MD) and serves as a Resource Consultant/Partner to Principal & Owner Surale Phillips at Decision Support Partners, Inc. focusing on crisis management, market research, organizational assessment and strategic planning for nonprofits nationwide.
