Kelly Ruggirello has led the Long Beach Symphony – celebrating its 88th season - since March 2013. During her ten-year tenure, the Long Beach Symphony has enjoyed tremendous growth and financial stability. Located in one of the most diverse communities in the nation, including the nation’s largest Cambodian population, under Kelly’s leadership, the Symphony launched new, artistic collaborations celebrating the varied musical artistry throughout the region. With the hiring of Music Director Eckart Preu, now in his 6th season, Southern Californians enjoy a Classical series at the 3,000-seat Terrace Theater and a Pops series at the 5,000-seat Long Beach Arena. A former music educator, Kelly launched a new Family Concert series which augments the Symphony’s robust commitment to music education, including busing 12,000 students annually for concerts at the Terrace Theater and a popular school ensemble concert series, serving a total of 60,000 community members annually.
In recognition of her transformative work, the Symphony won the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce Award for Outstanding Non-profit in 2015 and Ms. Ruggirello won Mayor Garcia’s Go Long Beach Award in 2016, the award for outstanding arts management by the Arts Council for Long Beach and the NAACP Founders Award, both in 2017. In June of 2018, Ms. Ruggirello won the 40 Inspiring Leaders Award by the Nonprofit Center of Southern California. Dedicated to a thriving cultural landscape for all arts organizations in the region, Ms. Ruggirello was appointed by former Mayor Robert Garcia to the Queen Mary Land Development Task Force commission resulting in the City Council approval of a world-class amphitheater, aka “The Summer Home of the Long Beach Symphony” on Queen Mary Island.
Formerly the President & CEO of the nationally-renowned Pacific Chorale in Orange County, during her nine-year tenure she achieved an 86% increase in contributed revenue and a 50% increase in ticket revenue. Under her leadership, the Chorale relocated to the world-class Renée & Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, produced seven recordings, commissioned nine world premieres, won the highly coveted ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, and operated with a balanced budget for seven consecutive years. During her tenure, Ms. Ruggirello was nominated for the 2013 Women in Business Award by the Orange County Business Journal.
Previously serving as Vice President of Development, Marketing and Public Relations of the Orange County School of the Arts, Ms. Ruggirello raised over $39 million during her tenure, including a $25 million capital campaign. A former teacher and arts mentor for Downey USD where she won Teacher of the Year for two consecutive years, she also has held positions with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Pacific Symphony. She holds a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree, both from the University of California at Los Angeles.
Dedicated to strengthening orchestras and arts managers, Ms. Ruggirello served as President of the Board of Directors of the Association of California Symphony Orchestras and was a faculty member for the national service organizations, Chorus America and the League of American Orchestras. Having raised over $80 million during her career, she actively consults with local and national orchestras and choruses and serves as a presenter at state and national conferences. Committed to community service, Ms. Ruggirello is a Rotarian currently serving asVice President of the Long Beach Rotary in 2022/2023 and elected to serve as President #109 in 2025/2026. She has been a proud Long Beach resident for over 35 years with her two children.