The Savannah Philharmonic has hired Leslie Harris to serve as the organization’s new development director. As a cultural, educational and social asset to the city, the organization’s commitment to the community continues to grow and with that comes the need for more friends and fundraising initiatives.

Harris has over 20 years of experience in fundraising, marketing, event planning, nonprofit membership and resource development. Before joining the Philharmonic team, she held executive positions with the Valdosta Chamber of Commerce and the Columbus, Mississippi Convention and Visitors Bureau. Along with her experience, Harris brings a passion for the arts initiated at a young age by her mother, a mezzo soprano for the Metropolitan Opera Company.

For more than a decade, Harris spent her Friday nights at the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas enjoying the stellar musicians and such legendary talent as Christopher Parkening, Itzhak Perlman and Yo-Yo Ma.

She and her family previously resided in Savannah from 2001 through 2008 before relocating to Ocean Springs, Mississippi, and subsequently Valdosta, Georgia. Harris believes that partnerships are essential components of successful organizational development and she looks forward to building long lasting relationships with new and existing friends of Savannah’s Philharmonic and the greater community.

“I am thrilled to welcome a rising generation of visionaries to the Philharmonic team with the recent appointment of Education and Outreach Coordinator Kristen Spiridon and now Leslie Harris as development director,” said Savannah Philharmonic Executive Director Terri O’Neil. “We are happy to welcome Leslie back to Savannah. I look forward to working with these individuals as they will be an integral part in paving the way for expansion and growth in support of our mission.”

The Savannah Philharmonic strives to be one of the most dynamic and engaging orchestral and choral groups in the United States, and to be regarded as an essential musical, educational, cultural, and economic asset to the community. The nonprofit organization’s mission is to inform, instruct, and enrich the community through orchestral and choral performances, and to promote and increase community knowledge and appreciation of the arts.