DIANA CLARKSON NAMED CHAIR OF RPO BOARD OF DIRECTORS

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The RPO is pleased to announce Diana Clarkson, Esq. has been appointed as the new Chair of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra Board of Directors.

With Clarkson’s appointment, former RPO Board Chair Ross P. Lanzafame, Esq. moves into the roles Chair of the RPO Governance Committee and Immediate Past Chair of the Board.

Clarkson is a partner at Akerman LLP, ranked by The American Lawyer as one of the largest law firms in the United States. Clarkson’s extensive list of achievements includes recognition as one of The Best Lawyers in America (2023-2025). She has served on numerous boards, including the American Red Cross Greater Rochester Chapter, where she was board chair from 2017-2019.

With the support of Lanzafame, a colleague during her 15 years at Harter Secrest & Emery LLP, Clarkson was appointed to both the RPO board and as chair of the RPO governance committee in 2020.

“Diana helped us recruit a new generation of leaders to the board and helped us secure underwriting for important initiatives,” said RPO President and CEO Curtis S. Long. “She’s the right person to lead the board as we build on the positive momentum of the recently completed Centennial Season.”

After his five years as board chair, Lanzafame said the timing is right for Clarkson’s appointment. “The organization is at a very positive point,” he explained. “We’re at the start of our second century, which a few years ago was kind of doubtful. But here we are. We have a board that is vigorous and that is substantially younger and more diverse than when I came to the chair’s role. And Diana is just superb.”

Clarkson said top priorities as board chair include shepherding the RPO& Comprehensive Capital Campaign from its current halfway point to its $50 million goal, which will propel the 100-year-old orchestra into its second century.

She also pointed proudly to recent uptick in RPO programs and events taking the orchestra out of Kodak Hall and all around the Greater Rochester community, such as the Centennial Season’s 100 Acts of Giving Back free education and entertainment offerings, the sold-out RPO Eclipse Spectacular at Blue Cross Arena, and summer’s free RPO Outdoors Series – the latter’s concerts attracting more than 65,000 Rochesterians.

“These are prime examples of our reaching out, so people realize there is access, that the RPO isn’t just for a certain type of person. It is for everyone,” she said.

Clarkson, who grew up in Ontario, N.Y., learned about the RPO’s importance to its community early on. “I remember the orchestra coming to the Allendale Columbia School and performing at the gym, and that was a major memory from my childhood.”

Clarkson said another challenge for the RPO is convincing the next generation of patrons – the first fully accustomed to filling free time at home with technology and entertainment on demand — “to get out and realize what a gem the RPO really is.”

“I am that next generation, and have friends who are always saying, ‘We always want to go to the RPO, but we never do,’” Clarkson explained. “One of the things that I’ve been concentrating on is making a night at the RPO something that everyone wants to do, and that they get past their excuses for not doing it. I think part of that is making it an entire evening’s experience, so that folks feel like it’s something special.”

Clarkson studied piano from second-to-12th grade, and still plays — albeit for an audience of one. “Just for myself,” she said, with a laugh. “I’d play more, but I spend all day sitting at a desk and typing, so coming home to play the piano doesn’t feel like the stress-reliever it used to.”

Clarkson lives in the town of Penfield with her husband, Jim Donnelly. She has two stepchildren, Elizabeth, 14, and J.R., 12.

ABOUT THE RPO: The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) has been committed to enriching and inspiring our community through the art of music since its origins in 1922. The RPO presents approximately 150 concerts and broadcasts a year, serving up to 170,000 through ticketed events, education and community engagement activities, and concerts in schools and community centers throughout the region. Andreas Delfs was named music director in 2021, following notable RPO music directors Erich Leinsdorf, David Zinman, Mark Elder, and Conductor Laureate Christopher Seaman.

Principal Pops Conductor Jeff Tyzik, now starting his 31st season, has earned a national reputation for excellence in pops programming during his tenure with the RPO. The RPO reaches more than 30,000 through its specific education programs.