The highly accomplished Canadian arts leader was formerly the CEO of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra.

The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra has announced today that Sophie Galaise has been appointed as its new Managing Director. Galaise comes to the MSO with an impressive pedigree of leading major symphony orchestras – she was formerly the Executive Director of the Quebec Symphony Orchestra in her native Canada and is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra.

During her tenure at QSO, Galaise has been credited with substantially enlarging the orchestra’s revenue as well as its audience, with more than 1.1 million people attending performances by the Brisbane-based orchestra in the past year – the most attended season in its history.  The key to this success is “collaboration,” Galaise says. “MSO has a great team, a great board with a wide ranging capacity, extraordinary musicians and a world renowned Chief Conductor. My ambition is for all of us to work together to achieve the best outcomes.”

The news of Galaise’s appointment to the top job at MSO will come as a surprise some to concertgoers in Brisbane, as this will mean the premature end of her...