Santa Monicans Marc Hayutin and Eugene Ohr were recently appointed to serve three years on the board of directors of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.
Though the nonprofit is based in Downtown Los Angeles, executive director Rachel Fine said Santa Monica is well represented within the organization with a third of the board now made up of local residents. The orchestra has also put on a concert series at The Broad Stage.
"Our presence is significant in Santa Monica but primarily on the Westside," Fine said.
Hayutin's and Ohr's responsibilities will include governance, a sense of fiscal responsibility and an expectation to perform advocacy in the community and direct fundraisers. Fine added that board members must express a passion for music and a dedication to their mission of enriching and connecting the community through music.
While Ohr, senior vice president and investment analyst at the Capital Group Companies, sustained a musical background well after college, Hayutin, head partner of Sidley Austin Los Angeles Real Estate Group, took piano classes into his teen years and from then on remained more of a opera supporter.
"This is a chance for me to reconnect [with symphony music] in a meaningful way," Hayutin said.
Ohr could not be reached for comment.
Hayutin added he will mainly occupy himself with the orchestra's finance committee working to find a solution to the challenges all nonprofits — including Skid Row Housing Trust, for which he is chairman — face such as few available government funds and the failure of performance tickets to cover major costs.
"[O]ld [funding] models are not going to work for the future," Hayutin said.
News of Hayutin and Ohr's appointment also marks the nonprofit's move to the New Roads School on Olympic Boulevard in Santa Monica for a three-part concert series.
The series will kickoff in spring 2014. Fine said they are planning on getting student involvement.
"One of our hallmarks is being very flexible," Fine said.
Hayutin said he commends the organization's broad reach across the county and hopes to help continue its 45-year run well into the future.
