Professional Singer to Head Symphony

Ventura County Symphony officials have hired a professional singer as their new executive director.

Patricia Hesselbach, 39, will assume the symphony’s top post Tuesday, officials said. She replaces Karine Beesley, who resigned earlier this year.

In the job, she will oversee a staff of four employees and administer an annual budget of $730,000. She will also be in charge of fund-raising for the 33-year-old symphony.

Felice Ginsberg, president of the symphony’s board of directors, said Hesselbach was chosen from among 30 applicants.

Ginsberg declined to give Hesselbach’s salary, but Beesley cited a wage freeze on her $38,900 annual salary as a factor in her resignation.

In recent years, the 60-member symphony has run into serious financial difficulties. It began the fiscal year with a $180,000 deficit, and its financial woes were compounded when the symphony’s musicians sought a collective bargaining agreement for the first time.

But Ginsberg said Hesselbach, who now lives in San Pedro, has a combination of arts and business experience that should help her get through any rough spots.

The symphony needs to raise $150,000 next year to get a matching federal grant of $50,000. In addition, a permanent contract must still be signed by the musicians, who agreed to an interim contract weeks before the season opener.

Hesselbach’s last related job was two years ago when she held management positions with the Da Camera Society of Mount St. Mary’s College in Los Angeles. The Da Camera Society presents chamber music concerts in historic locations around Los Angeles.

Since then, Hesselbach said, she has been a free-lance public relations worker. She is a University of Redlands graduate with a bachelor of science degree in business and has worked as a professional choral singer.