Pittsburgh eyes San Diego exec

Douglas Gerhart, president and chief executive of the San Diego Symphony since 2000, has emerged as the top candidate to lead the Pittsburgh Symphony as managing director-chief executive, according to reports in Pittsburgh and San Diego.

Gerhart, who came to San Diego from the Alabama Symphony in Birmingham, completed a three-year contract last month that reportedly paid him $200,000 annually.

During his tenure, the San Diego orchestra received a whopping $120-million gift from Qualcomm founder Irwin Jacobs and his wife, Joan. The gift significantly accelerated the ensemble’s recovery after it declared bankruptcy in 1996 and came back to life two years later.

Gerhart also presided over a two-year search that ended in May with the hiring of Jahja Ling as the orchestra’s music director starting in September. Officials at the Pittsburgh Symphony would not comment on the search process.

-- Chris Pasles