All Over Albany

New president and CEO for SPAC

The next head of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center will be Elizabeth Sobol, the org officially announced Thursday. She'll be succeeding Marcia White, he's headed up the venue since 2005.

Sobol has a resume that would seem to match up well with SPAC's programming -- she formerly the head of the Universal Music Classics label and a managing director at the huge talent agency IMG. SPAC press release blurbage:

As Managing Director of IMG Artists North/South America (IMGA), Sobol was widely considered one of the most well-respected and creative artist managers in the business, overseeing a roster of artists including Itzhak Perlman, Joshua Bell, Renée Fleming, Emerson String Quartet, James Galway, Evgeny Kissin, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and KODO. Sobol created the IMG Artists Dance Division, which grew into the most prestigious roster of dance clients in the industry, representing the Bolshoi Ballet, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, Pilobolus, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, Lyon Opera Ballet and Miami City Ballet. Sobol also created and oversaw IMGA's initiatives and growth in the areas of world music, jazz, contemporary music and music/dance theatricals.

Some of those performers have appeared at SPAC in recent seasons -- Fleming just this week.

So it will be interesting to see Sobol translates that experience into managing SPAC and keeping it afloat. She told the Times Union in an interview that she's looking for ways collaborating with other orgs to make SPAC "a strong player on the national and international stage."

photo via SPAC