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Isaac Thompson standing with arms folded, wearing blue suit and smiling in front of a white-green background.

Isaac Thompson

President and CEO

Isaac Thompson joined the Grammy Award-winning Minnesota Orchestra as President and CEO in October 2025, having previously held leadership positions with the Oregon Symphony, New York Philharmonic and Cincinnati Symphony. Originally from the Twin Cities, Thompson attended Minnesota Orchestra concerts as a young violinist and credits the ensemble with many of his formative musical experiences.

During his tenure as President and CEO of the Oregon Symphony, Thompson oversaw substantial growth in earned and contributed income, grew and diversified its Board of Directors, and led a comprehensive “anchor arts” resiliency initiative that led to a significant increase in arts funding from the Oregon State Legislature. He also co-chaired and introduced “We Play for Portland,” a coalition of sports and arts partners advocating for their critical role in the city’s livelihood.  

At the New York Philharmonic, where he held roles as vice president of artistic planning and managing director, he commissioned more than 30 world premieres on behalf of the organization, planned initiatives such as Project 19—the largest commissioning program of female composers ever undertaken by an American orchestra—and served on the search committee that led to the appointment of Gustavo Dudamel as music director. He also launched the Philharmonic’s new media platform (NYPhil+) and oversaw planning for the ensemble’s inaugural season in the newly renovated David Geffen Hall.

His prior roles include serving as director of artistic administration at the Cincinnati Symphony, where he spearheaded artistic planning for the symphony and Cincinnati May Festival; vice president of artistic planning at the Milwaukee Symphony, where he worked with former Minnesota Orchestra Music Director Edo de Waart; and artistic administrator for Music@Menlo.

Thompson was born and raised in the Twin Cities, playing in the Minnesota Youth Symphonies and graduating from Mounds View High School. He studied violin with Nancy Lokken and former Minnesota Orchestra Concertmaster Jorja Fleezanis while in high school and subsequently received a bachelor of music in violin performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and a master’s from the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied with Brian Lewis.

Thompson serves on the boards of the League of American Orchestras and Minnesota Public Radio/American Public Media.