Howard Herring, president and CEO of the New World Symphony, is photographed at the New World Center on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, in Miami Beach, Fla. Fellows with the New World Symphony took part in a rehearsal session at the center Tuesday.
Photo by Matias J. Ocner
mocner@miamiherald.com
For nine straight years, Howard Herring had his head down, hard at work imagining decades into the future.
He was tasked with helping conductor Michael Tilson Thomas bring his vision of a world-class music education program and orchestra to fruition with a new facility in Miami Beach. Three years of conceptualizing, three years of designing, three years of building the New World Center, the state-of-the-art home of the New World Symphony. They asked themselves, “What will we be in 2030?”
In the middle of it all, Herring recalled, he brought his head up, looked around and thought to himself, “This is the most wonderful city I could ever live in.”
When the building was completed in 2011, Herring thought to himself again, “I think I’ll just keep going.”
For 25 years, Herring did keep going as New World Symphony’s CEO and president. This week, he announced that he will retire on June 30.
New World Symphony CEO and president Howard Herring (center) with New World Symphony co-founder Michael Tilson Thomas (right) and Joshua Robison, Tilson Thomas’ late husband. Chris Burch Courtesy of New World Symphony
“I love what I do. I love this institution, but it is time for someone else to take the lead,” Herring, 76, told the Herald. “It’s the right time for me, right time for New World.”
Herring’s departure comes at moment of both stability and institutional change for New World Symphony, a prestigious ensemble and intensive three-year fellowship program where music graduates hone their skills, artists from around the world perform and residents can enjoy the music projected onto the outside of the building for free.
Four years ago, Tilson Thomas, the founding artistic director, stepped down from his role due to health concerns. The symphony then appointed renowned French conductor Stéphane Denève as artistic director, who has proven to be the perfect fit, Herring said. Simultaneously, the symphony’s financial future is secure after Herring fundraised $150 million for the institution’s endowment.
“We are settled programmatically. Financially, our donor base continues to grow. We have more presence in Miami and around the world. The number of applicants [for the fellowship] continues to rise. This year, we will have at least 1,300 applicants for the 35 openings of next year’s orchestra,” Herring said. “We’re in a strong position, and this would be the right time for us to search for a successor.”
Besides the endowment, highlights of Herring’s tenure include leading the organization through the Covid-19 pandemic, developing new concert formats and creating the Knight New Media Center.
“For a quarter-century, Howard Herring has led with imagination, integrity, and an unshakable belief in the power of music to transform lives,” said William M. Osborne, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, in a statement. “Under his leadership, New World Symphony has become a model cultural institution that nurtures exceptional artists, embraces innovation, and welcomes new audiences to classical music. His impact will resonate for decades, and we are profoundly grateful for his remarkable stewardship.”
Throughout his time in Miami, he watched the area’s nascent arts and culture scene grow into a global attraction. From 2006 to 2016, Herring noted, $1.3 billion worth of investment from public-private partnerships made way for the New World Center, Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, Pérez Art Museum Miami, Dennis C. Moss Cultural Arts Center and the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami.
“We went from being a modest American city to a city that invested in culture. Serious culture, sophisticated culture,” Herring said.
‘Architecture of invitation’
While there’s plenty to be proud of, Herring said he is most proud of the New World Center building, what it represents and how it serves the fellows and community.
“I’m more proud of what the building has done,” he said. “It is doing what we intended it to do. It’s asking about the future. It challenges us to imagine the future.”
Neisen O. Kasdin, Chair of the Board of Directors for the Miami Downtown Development Authority, left, Howard Herring, President and CEO of the New World Symphony, center and Michael Tilson Thomas, Artistic Director of the New World Symphony, take a hard-hat tour of the new building in 2010. The building opened in 2011. Barbara P. Fernandez Courtesy of New World Symphony
When he arrived in Miami Beach in 2001, the New World Symphony was still performing at the Lincoln Theatre, a home it was quickly outgrowing. He and Tilson Thomas worked closely with visionary architect Frank Gehry, who died in December, to design the new building. Achieving “architecture of invitation” was the goal, Herring said.
Tilson Thomas said they should start with the doors. “Don’t make this a formal front door, a suit-and-tie kind of front door. Make it an invitation,” he told Gehry. Eighteen months later, Gehry had the design of the New World Center’s facade.
“If you prop the doors of the atrium open, people who are walking the sidewalk in front of the building do not see a barrier. They see invitation, and they quite naturally walk through those doors,” Herring said. “We are in the city together. Who we are inside the door and who we are outside the door is all one piece.”
Howard Herring (right) with architect Frank Gehry and New World Symphony co-founder Lin Arison visiting the New World Center construction site. The building was completed in 2011. Abdiel Thorne Courtesy of New World Symphony
Much of Herring’s tenure has focused on how technology, and the symphony’s longtime partnership with the Knight Foundation, can help classical music reach as many people as possible. The symphony’s popular Wallcast is also part of its open invitation to the general public: the New World Center invites people, free of charge, to lounge on its front lawn and watch a livestream of the concert happening inside the building projected onto the building’s facade.
That connection with the community is priceless, Herring said. A survey showed that 75 percent of Wallcast audiences have never purchased a ticket to see a New World concert indoors.
Herring likes to walk around the lawn to meet people who come to watch the Wallcasts. Years ago, he introduced himself to a group of young women. They told him they had never been to a Wallcast before, but they came to watch the orchestra perform Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Scherharzade” that night. He asked why.
“My name is Scherharzade!” one of the women said. “My mother was a dancer. My mother loved ‘Scheherazade,’ so she named me Scheherazade. But I’ve never heard the piece.”
That’s just one example of how New World aims to “democratize” classical music, Herring said. He was very proud to say the Wallcast idea has been copied by other music organizations in Miami-Dade, Sarasota, Louisville and even Brazil.
Mon ami
Herring’s retirement has been very emotional to process, said Denève, who calls Herring “mon ami,” my friend. Herring cares deeply about his team, the fellows, the music and the community, Denève said. While Herring constantly thinks about the future, Denève said he is also very present. Unlike many CEOs, he said, Herring is a consistent presence at the symphony, attending concerts and interacting with audiences.
“I just love the man,” Denève said.
As great as he is as a leader, Denève said Herring is just as kind. Whenever a New World Symphony alum has a new baby, Herring mails them a onesie with the symphony’s logo on it.
(From left to right) Alan Lieberman, New World Symphony artistic director Stéphane Denève, Diane Lieberman, New World Symphony CEO and president Howard Herring and Kristin Podack pose for a photo at the New World Center in 2024. Manny Hernandez Courtesy of New World Symphony
Denève recalled a recent full-circle moment. Long before he became artistic director, Denève would come to the New World Center to perform. In 2011, Denève’s daughter Alma, who was 3 at the time, drew a little butterfly and gave it to Herring, who has kept that drawing in his office ever since. Just last week, Alma came to New World’s gala, where she celebrated her 18th birthday.
Hopefully, Denève said, whoever fills Herring’s shoes has the same level of care, passion, curiosity and dedication.
“This position is much more attractive now than it was when Howard took the position. It’s a much better institution. The budget, the endowment, the building, the recognition. It’s a very successful story,” Denève said. “We need to try to find somebody that embraces all of this, somebody that wants to have the same impact on the community.”
This story was originally published March 5, 2026 at 3:41 PM.