1st Tuesday

Michelle Miller Burns

President, and CEO of the Minnesota Orchestra

Michelle Miller Burns joined the Grammy Award-winning Minnesota Orchestra as President and CEO in September 2018. Under her leadership, the Orchestra launched a multi-year revenue  growth plan to increase both contributed and earned revenue for the organization; unveiled a new  leadership model for its long-running summer festival; and pivoted quickly in the pandemic to  launch This Is Minnesota Orchestra, a multi-channel series bringing the Orchestra to audiences  on TV, digital livestream and radio across Minnesota—and around the world. 

Prior to her Minnesota post, Burns most recently held multiple positions during her tenure with  the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, including Interim President and CEO; Executive Vice President  for Institutional Advancement and Chief Operating Officer; and Vice President of Development.  Under her leadership, the Dallas Symphony ratified a new three-year contract with its musicians,  achieved its contributed revenue goal of $24 million, and completed its 2016-17 season with a  balanced budget.  

Burns began her orchestral career in the administration of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra,  where she held a number of positions over 15 years, including Director of Planned Giving. In  2006 she was named Vice President for Development at the Newberry Library, an independent  research library for the humanities in Chicago, where she spearheaded a turnaround of the  Library’s fundraising program, including leading a $25 million campaign. 

Born in Iowa, Michelle Miller Burns began violin lessons at age four, later performing as a  member of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra. She earned a B.M. in Arts Administration  from Northwestern University, where she studied violin performance with two members of the  Chicago Symphony, and subsequently completed the Chicago Management Institute program at  the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, as well as a Management Fellowship with  the League of American Orchestras. 

Burns serves on the Northwestern University Bienen School of Music Advisory Board and The  Solti Foundation U.S. Board. She is a past president of the Chicago Council on Planned Giving  and the Junior League of Chicago. In 2021 she was named to the “Minnesota 500,” a list of the  most powerful business leaders in Minnesota created by Greenspring Media.