Vivo Performing Arts (formerly Celebrity Series of Boston) has announced Thor Steingraber as its next President and Chief Executive Officer. Arts Consulting Group (ACG) extends its congratulations on his leadership appointment. He will assume the role in June 2026, succeeding Gary Dunning following his distinguished 15-year tenure.
Vivo Performing Arts offers more than 200 performances each year, spanning dance, classical music, jazz, global music, workshops, and free public events, including more than 65 ticketed performances and over 150 community engagement activities throughout Greater Boston annually. Founded in 1938 by pianist and impresario Aaron Richmond, the organization has introduced Boston audiences to extraordinary performers for more than 87 years and continues to advance a mission of making the performing arts a valued, lifelong, and shared experience through authentic connections with artists, audiences, and communities across Greater Boston.
Steingraber becomes only the fifth leader in the organization’s 88-year history, arriving at a pivotal moment as the institution transitions to its new identity as Vivo Performing Arts. In the President and CEO role, Steingraber will oversee organizational innovation, artistic vision, community engagement, and stakeholder collaboration. Steingraber is tasked with furthering Vivo Performing Arts’ mission of delivering exceptional experiences in the performing arts to ensure they remain a valued, lifelong, and shared experience through authentic connections with artists, audiences, and communities across Greater Boston.
The appointment marks a significant homecoming for Steingraber, who served as Harvard’s inaugural Arts and Culture Fellow in 2008 and 2009. A graduate of Harvard’s Kennedy School and Indiana University, he returns to the region after 15 years of transformative leadership in Los Angeles.
Steingraber says, “Celebrity Series of Boston (now Vivo) has been a respected leader in Boston’s cultural life for 88 years, but what compelled me to join this organization is far more than its approaching centenary and rich history. I was drawn to the appetite for growth and innovation in this pivotal moment. I look forward to creating a roadmap to the future with staff, civic leaders, the Board, and its incoming Chair Cherié Butts.”
Steingraber’s career is defined by scaling artistic institutions and activating public spaces. Since 2014, he has served as the Executive and Artistic Director at The Soraya, where he drove exponential growth in programming and national reputation. His tenure was marked by more than 120 original programs, including premieres and large-scale Broadway concert productions like Randy Newman’s Faust. He transformed The Soraya into a laboratory for L.A.-based artists to create new multi-disciplinary works, and as a destination for international artists, featuring orchestras, dance companies, and cultural artists representing over 40 nations. The Soraya has come to be known as one of the West Coast’s most important jazz venues, with its annual winter festival reaching large audiences in Los Angeles as well as an international audience via livestream broadcast. DownBeat named The Soraya one of the “World’s Great Jazz Venues.”
Previously, as Vice President of The Music Center in Los Angeles, he oversaw the development of Grand Park, a 16-acre multi-use public space that transformed L.A.’s civic center into a year-round destination for programming.
Before his executive career, Steingraber established himself as an opera director, first in residence at the opera companies in Chicago and Los Angeles and then creating productions for international companies in Hong Kong, Barcelona, and the United States including New York City Opera, San Francisco Opera, and Santa Fe Opera. He has also shared his expertise in the classroom, teaching at the Yale School of Music, the Curtis Institute, and Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music.
“Thor’s rare combination of artistic vision and executive experience makes him the ideal leader to guide Vivo Performing Arts into its next era,” says Joshua Boger, PhD, Chair of the Board of Directors. “Throughout his career, he has demonstrated the ability to honor the traditions of the performing arts while reimagining the possibilities of community engagement and public activation. Thor’s proven track record will be instrumental in expanding our impact and ensuring that the performing arts remain an accessible and transformative force for Greater Boston.”
Search Committee Chair and Board of Directors Chair-Elect Dr. Cherié Butts, PhD adds, “Thor is committed to the arts and the idea that they belong to everyone. His work in Los Angeles demonstrated ability to bring world-class performances into public spaces and reach new audiences. As we transition to Vivo Performing Arts, Thor is the leader to strengthen our relationships throughout the Boston metropolitan area and ensure our next century is as inclusive as it is extraordinary.”
ACG is the leading provider of hands-on interim management, executive search, revenue enhancement, strategic planning & community engagement, and facilities & program planning and research services for the arts and culture industry. ACG consultants are located in communities across the United States and Canada to best serve the needs of our clients. ACG team members have decades of combined senior leadership experience in every artistic and cultural discipline and area of functional management expertise.