Can new conductor beat Ling's $429,960 deal?

The price of fine music could be going up even more for the San Diego Symphony with the departure of conductor Jahja Ling.

The Indonesian-born Ling said on Thursday, November 20, that he will be leaving the local podium.

“After the 2016–17 season, I look forward to pursuing more international guest conducting, passing on the great musical traditions to the next generation through teaching and continuing with my volunteer work in the Christian mission,” according to Ling's statement.

“I am hopeful and confident that the future of this fine orchestra, led by our new CEO Martha Gilmer and supported by our talented administrative staff and committed board of directors, will be bright,” he said.

Much of that future could depend on enticing a new leader with a generous salary, and Ling didn't come cheap.

According to the symphony's most recently filed financial disclosure with the Internal Revenue Service, covering the period between July 2012 through June of last year, Ling got $429,960.

That made him the symphony's second highest paid independent contractor; Burger Construction of Sorrento Valley received $1,104,153; third was New York's Columbia Artist Management, with $376,250.

How much Gilmer is making in her new job was not immediately known. Her predecessor, recently exited CEO Edward Benton Gill, was paid $317,620, plus related compensation of $23,484, for a total of $341,104.

The Ling and Gill era dawned in 2004, two years after Qualcomm billionaire Irwin Jacobs and wife Joan came up with $120 million to bankroll the once-bankrupt organization.

"This fall, the symphony's new conductor, Jahja Ling, officially becomes music director, at an annual salary that is believed to be in the high $200,000s," the Union-Tribune reported in July 2004.

"He's working closely with the orchestra's new executive director, Edward B. 'Ward' Gill, whose salary is thought to be in the neighborhood of $200,000. (His predecessor, Douglas Gerhart, capped out at $209,000 before his departure last year, according to the symphony's latest Form 990 on file with the Internal Revenue Service.)”

Others well compensated during 2013, according to the IRS document, include concert master Jeff Thayer, with a total of $219,179; Megan Pogue, vice president of business development, at $172,542; and chief operating officer Robert Wilkins, with $166,451.

Symphony boardmember Douglas Manchester, who often shows up at the group’s lavish society fundraisers with his Russian-born second wife Geniya and is the owner of the U-T, got $298,996 for "advertising."

"We acknowledge that our success is the result of the effort of many throughout San Diego," says the symphony's website. "The San Diego media of course has played a pivotal role, but no other media outlet has gone above and beyond the call of duty more than U-T San Diego.”