At its annual board meeting on September 9th, the Chamber Orchestra of San Antonio (COSA) named Mario Ochoa as its Interim Chairman of the Board, when founding Board Chairman, Mario Vazquez, KLRN President/CEO, stepped down after three years at the helm. Ochoa, who co-owns and operates a local public relations firm, Sammis & Ochoa, will be responsible for maintaining COSA’s founding mission and establishing new relationships to aid in serving San Antonio’s community. COSA’s Board of Directors expressed their gratitude for Vazquez’s dedication and guidance during his term.

COSA Artistic Director, Paul Montalvo, praised Vazquez’s service to the board: “Mario Vazquez gave his heart and soul to our organization for three years. His intelligent and witty entrepreneurial spirit, combined with his extensive nonprofit and board governance experience, ensured that we will be healthy from an artistic and financial standpoint for years to come.”

The Chamber Orchestra is one of seven performing arts companies that will set up residency in 2014 at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts. This interim chair appointment comes at a pivotal time for COSA, as it seeks to secure funding for its long-term initiatives that include inaugurating and presenting an international fine arts festival at the Tobin Center.

Of Vazquez’s successor, COSA Executive Director, Lori Skinner, says, “Mario Ochoa’s appointment feels completely natural. The board made this decision with an eye on the future. His robust energy and vision will lead COSA into a more expansive phase of serving the community-at-large through the power of music and education.”

“COSA and its mission resonate with me like a well-tuned violin,” says Ochoa. “In my lifetime I have watched San Antonio evolve from a well-regarded cultural destination into a burgeoning powerhouse. COSA joins other like-minded organizations in filling the market demand for classical music and fine arts collaboration. This appointment is a responsibility that I accept with great honor.”

COSA will present a fall concert with acclaimed conductor and composer, Francisco J. Nuñez, and soprano Elena Galván on November 7, 2013, at the San Antonio Museum of Art.