Joyce Rudolph
Chances are good the Glendale Symphony Orchestra Assn. board of
directors will approve a new executive director during its meeting
Wednesday.
Glendale resident Diane Hedrick, a freelance entertainment
producer who has created shows for Disney and Universal Studios
Hollywood and Florida, said she is waiting to hear from Carl Raggio,
president of the board, as to when she can sign on the dotted line.
"I haven't signed my contract yet, so I don't know if it's
official," she said.
Raggio confirmed that Hedrick is being considered for the
position.
"The board has the final say, and the potential candidate is Diane
Hedrick," he said.
Pam Ellis stepped down as executive director in March after the
grant for her position expired. The grant received from the Ralph M.
Parsons Foundation in August 2002 was for $65,000. Ellis said she was
leaving the position because the symphony could no longer afford her
salary.
The new executive director will not be compensated at this time
because the symphony association has no funds available for a salary,
Raggio said.
"It will be up to the executive director to fundraise, and the
position will receive a percentage of those funds. That's an
incentive," he said.
Hedrick is principal/creative producer for ShoBiz Creative
Entertainment Group Inc., an entertainment consulting business she
owns in Glendale with her husband, Steve Hedrick.
Diane Hedrick is a consultant for musical productions, securing
talent and producing shows within budget.
In addition, she has been a production manager and show director
for national television commercials produced by Walt Disney Marketing
and was producer, show director and choreographer for Walt Disney
Creative Entertainment's musical projects.
The symphony's executive- director duties include overseeing the
budget, making all nonartistic administrative and financial
decisions, and assisting the music director in scheduling concerts,
rehearsals and related activities, securing concert locations, and
booking musicians.
"I'm very excited because I think Norman Henry Mamey being the new
music director and conductor is good for the symphony and good for
Glendale," she said.
Hedrick said Mamey is planning a holiday concert Dec. 3 at the
Alex Theatre.
If she is named executive director, she said she will organize
gala concerts and fundraisers to pay for the Dec. 3 event and for a
full concert season the following year, she said.
Hedrick worked with Mamey as the line producer for the Christmas
concert last year at the Alex Theatre. She coordinated lighting
effects and decorations for the stage and organized the seating for
the orchestra and risers for the Angeles Chorale.
