[August 25, 2011] New West Symphony names new executive director Tweet Aug 25, 2011 (Ventura County Star - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- New West Symphony General Manager Natalia Staneva has been named the new executive director by the symphony's board of directors. Staneva had taken over the executive director responsibilities in October following a restructuring effort, adding to her workload that already included orchestra operations, concert production, office management, financial supervision, budget preparation, negotiations and programming, among other tasks. In the post, Staneva will be responsible for managing all facets of the symphony's operations. "All of us in the symphony family look forward to working with (Staneva) in her new capacity as she helps lead the orchestra into a new era," Jennifer Zobelein, the board's president, said in a statement. The Russian-born and raised Staneva joined New West Symphony in 2008, after serving as the associate managing director of the American Youth Symphony in Los Angeles. Staneva said in a statement she appreciated the board's vote of confidence and was excited to take on the new position. "Our orchestra is uniquely positioned to serve not one, but three culturally diverse communities," she said. "We have a great team, and I'm proud of all of our dedicated employees and our extraordinary musicians." The symphony serves Thousand Oaks, Oxnard and Santa Monica. Staneva started playing the piano when she was 6. She attended music school part time for nine years while attending to her regular studies. She received her bachelor's degree in education and foreign languages from Kursk State University in Kursk, Russia. After moving to the United States in 2000, she received an MBA at Cal State Long Beach. ___ (c)2011 Ventura County Star (Camarillo, Calif.) Visit Ventura County Star (Camarillo, Calif.) at www.vcstar.com Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]