Florida Orchestra CEO Mark Cantrell is leaving

Mark Cantrell, who became the CEO of the St. Petersburg-based Florida Orchestra in 2019, has announced his resignation, effective in May. TFO reports that Cantrell will become CEO of the Colorado Symphony in Denver.

After the Arizona native assumed the Florida Orchestra’s leading role, he by necessity led the organization through the darkest days of the Covid-19 pandemic. Under his leadership, TFO was one of the first of the major bay area arts organizations to “come back” with severely limited, socially-distanced programming.

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“This is a bittersweet moment for me,” Cantrell said in a prepared statement. “I’m so proud of all we’ve accomplished together at TFO, but I’m excited for the new challenge of a larger orchestra in an area that holds great meaning personally. In addition to music, my life has been dedicated to the great outdoors, and since I was a little boy, I have dreamed of living in the mountains.

“While I will miss working with Michael Francis, the musicians and the entire TFO team, this is an opportunity of a lifetime for me.”

The TFO board has initiated a national search to identify a new CEO.