K²O Names David Snead and Dr. Helen Riess to Board of Directors
The Kendall Square Orchestra has appointed two new members to its Board of Directors: David Snead, the recently retired President and CEO of the Handel and Haydn Society, and Dr. Helen Riess, Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Empathy and Relational Science Program at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Their appointments mark a meaningful step in K²O's evolution as an orchestra that pairs artistic excellence with civic purpose.
David Snead spent nearly a decade leading the Handel and Haydn Society, the country's oldest continuously operating performing arts organization. Under his leadership, H+H's annual revenue grew by 45% and its endowment expanded from $13 million to more than $34 million. Before Boston, he served fourteen years as Vice President of Marketing, Brand and Customer Experience at the New York Philharmonic, and held senior positions at the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Milwaukee Symphony, and the Hartford Symphony. Musical America named him one of its Top 30 Professionals of the Year in 2021. At K²O, he will support strategic communications and audience development as the orchestra continues to grow its reach.
Dr. Helen Riess has built her career at the intersection of medicine and human connection. As Director of the Empathy and Relational Science Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, she leads research on the neuroscience of empathy and its role in clinical care. She is the author of The Empathy Effect: Seven Neuroscience-Based Keys for Transforming the Way We Live, Love, Work, and Connect Across Differences, and her TEDx talk "The Power of Empathy" has reached more than 600,000 viewers. She also founded Empathetics, which trains healthcare organizations in empathy-based communication. Her presence on the board reflects K²O's commitment to exploring the connection between music, human experience, and care.
"These are two people who understand, in very different but complementary ways, how human connection is built," said Kristo Kondakçi, Music Director of the Kendall Square Orchestra. "David has spent his career bringing orchestras into closer relationship with the world around them. Helen has dedicated hers to helping us understand what it means to truly see and care for one another. Both perspectives are essential to what K²O is becoming."
David McCue, President of the Board, added: "K²O has always been about more than performance. It is about creating a space where people come together around something meaningful. David and Helen each bring clarity, depth, and a sense of purpose that will help guide us forward."
Founded in Cambridge, K²O brings together musicians from across Greater Boston's innovation economy. Its players are scientists, engineers, healthcare professionals, and entrepreneurs who perform at the highest level while engaging directly with the most pressing issues of our time. Through initiatives such as Symphony for Science, the orchestra has raised awareness and support for causes including rare disease advocacy, homelessness, and public health.
With the additions of Snead and Riess, K²O continues to build a leadership team that reflects both the artistic ambition and the human mission at the core of its work.
