ArtsWatch

With only two years under his belt, Philadelphia Orchestra president James Undercofler told colleagues Tuesday that he is resigning. He will stay on through the end of his contract, which expires in July 2009.
More here.
I'll be sorry to see Undercofler go. Everyone I've spoken to about him in the last two years has been impressed with his integrity, warmth, his courage to be upfront but kind about certain matters, and his great intelligence.
The entire orchestra now will enter a period of transition - artistic, administrative, on the board level - and I think it's a safe bet that Undercofler will spend the next year working energetically to make those transitions happen as smoothly as possible.
Would be nice, too, if that small matter of finding a new music director were settled before he left. A tall order, that.