On November 29, 2023, the Vancouver Symphony Society (VSS) Board appointed a new Chair and several Directors at its 2023 Annual General Meeting, held at Deloitte Summit.
David Garofalo, Chairman & CEO of Gold Royalty Corp and previous VSS Board Vice Chair and Chair of the Integrated Development & Events Committee, has been appointed as Chair. “I have been honoured to serve on the board of directors over the last seven years under the stewardship of Étienne and before him, Fred Withers,” said Garofalo. “It is an honour to follow in their footsteps and build on their incredible legacy. I’m very privileged to serve the VSO in the role as Chair under the strong artistic and organizational leadership of Otto Tausk and Angela Elster.”
The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra would like to thank outgoing Chair Étienne Bruson for ten years of service to the organization and for his inspiring leadership during his tenure. “The 10 years I have served on the Board of Directors have been a total joy and one of the most rewarding experiences of my career,” said Bruson. “The evolution of the organization over that period, its reach and impact on our community, has been nothing short of extraordinary. Although the celebration of our 100th anniversary or navigating through Covid-19 have been some of the most notable highlights of those ten years, what I will cherish most is the human connections made and the inspiration I have experienced working along everyone connected to the VSO and VSO School of Music so that the Power of Music can benefit as many people as possible to make our community one of the best and most inclusive places to live in the world.” Under Bruson’s leadership, the VSO has emerged thriving from the pandemic, delivering outstanding artistic and community programming to audiences across the Lower Mainland.
The VSS also welcomes six new Directors to its Board: Manijeh Colabella (Senior Governance Consultant and Lawyer, WATSON), Beverly Pao (Audit Partner & Managing Partner, Deloitte Canada), Rianna Ritchie (Partner, Blakes), Yuan Shi (Co-Founder & Principal, The51 Food and Agtech Fund), Edward Wang (Partner, BLG), and Vincent Yip (Partner, McCarthy Tétrault LLP).
