Howard Herring, the New World Symphony's president and CEO for the past 25 years, will step down on June 30, 2026, closing out a quarter-century run at the Miami Beach institution he helped define. “I love what I do. I love this institution, but it is time for someone else to take the lead,” the 76-year-old said, setting a clear timetable for a major leadership change.
Herring arrived in Miami Beach in 2001 and has since overseen the orchestra’s transformation from a training ensemble into a national model, according to the Miami Herald. The outlet reports he will stay in the job through June 2026 while the New World Symphony board launches a national search for his successor.
Built a new home and a digital reach
During Herring’s tenure, the institution completed the Frank Gehry-designed New World Center and pushed aggressively into digital programming, including the Knight New Media Center and NWS Media. Leaders also credit him with helping secure roughly $150 million in philanthropic support, according to The Violin Channel. Together, those projects reshaped how New World trains its fellows and how Miami Beach audiences encounter classical music.
Wallcasts widened the audience
New World’s free outdoor WALLCAST® concerts, projected live on the center’s facade, have become a civic ritual and a pointed invitation to people who might never buy a concert ticket. A recent survey reported by the Miami Herald found that roughly 75 percent of WALLCAST viewers had never purchased an indoor New World Symphony ticket, suggesting the public programming is pulling in a broader and less traditional crowd.
Transition and next steps
The New World Symphony board says the search for Herring’s successor is already underway and will focus on finding a leader who can steward both the fellows program and the organization’s expanding digital initiatives, per The Violin Channel. Stéphane Denève praised Herring’s care for “his team, the fellows, the music and the community,” while Board Chair William M. Osborne thanked him for guiding the institution “with imagination, integrity, and an unshakable belief in the power of music,” remarks that hint at just how large a space he will leave behind in Miami Beach and beyond.
