Deborah Borda Launches BordaArts and Joins Intermusica Agency

The leading arts administrator has launched a new consultancy business and will serve as non-executive chair of Intermusica artist management 

Deborah Borda previously served as president and CEO of the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestras; general manager of the San Francisco Symphony; president of The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra; and executive director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. 

Now, she has launched BordaArts, a consultancy that consolidates her work as executive advisor to the NY Phil, and a new partnership with the Aspen Leadership Group, among other cultural organizations. 

Additionally, she will join the London-based artist management agency, Intermusica, whose roster includes artists such as Yuja Wang, Leonidas Kavakos, and Marin Alsop. 

At Intermusica, Borda will begin her tenure in January 2024, serving as a strategic advisor to the six-member board. She succeeds Martijn Sanders, who is stepping down after 16 years to become the agency’s first honorary president. 

In her previous roles, Borda has navigated financial challenges, enhanced community engagement, championed contemporary composers, and appointed and collaborated with top music directors. 

She has also been involved in founding Los Angeles’ Walt Disney Concert Hall, the renovation of Lincoln Center’s Geffen Hall, plus mentoring leading arts administrators on both sides of the Atlantic.

“When my dear friend and trusted advisor Martijn Sanders expressed his wishes to retire from the board, there was only one person in my mind who could live up to his exceptional legacy, Deborah Borda,” said Intermusica’s founder and CEO, Stephen Lumsden. 

“Deborah is a legend in the industry, a tour de force, an expert strategist, and a pioneering cultural leader whose record of achievement in transforming American symphony orchestras and concert halls is second to none,” Lumsden continued. “She also shares our view of the artistic and creative imperative that underpins everything to which we aspire.  We are incredibly excited to welcome Deborah, and look forward to incorporating her insights into our ambitious forward plans.”

“As Non-Executive Chair, I will be supporting another dimension of performing arts: the next generation of artists and arts leaders,” said Borda. “Throughout my career, I have seen how vital strong management is in developing an artist’s early career — and, by extension, their future,” she added. “Intermusica is already highly regarded as one of the best agencies in the industry. Together, we will make it a destination for the artists who will shape the future of our community — and the managers who inspire them.”