Introduction

Paul Hogle was appointed as the ninth president and chief executive officer of the venerable Cleveland Institute of Music in July 2016, following a three-decade career of successful executive leadership for America’s most respected, innovative and accomplished classical music institutions. With an enviable track record of pursuing mission-centered strategy, Hogle has developed a vast network of leaders in the performing arts community having worked, partnered and consulted in America, Australia and Japan. 

With Hogle’s arrival in Cleveland, CIM began a journey of engagement, conversation and planning prompted by the ambitious assignment of crafting a new strategic plan for a new century. The results have been remarkable, including the highest-rated incoming classes in a generation and a 338% increase in Black and Latinx students, recruiting top faculty and administrative talent, growing annual support by 70% while adding over $16 million of new commitments to the endowment, breaking ground on a state-of-the-art student housing complex, increasing the school’s marketing and presence in Cleveland, recruiting a nationally significant roster of guest conductors to lead the CIM orchestra, building and strengthening alliances with conservatories across China and Europe, and, in pursuit of paying CIM’s civic rent, inaugurating an annual day of service — all while opening the CIM campus to new and legacy arts and community partners, lowering tuition by 15%, increasing scholarship funds by $1 million annually, and strengthening fiscal equilibrium. CIM recently extended Hogle’s tenure with an unprecedented 7-year contract. 

Prior to joining CIM, Hogle served as executive vice president of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. During one of the most tumultuous times in its storied history, Hogle helped architect the DSO’s unprecedented, highly publicized turnaround which has resulted in a previously unimaginable renaissance in Detroit. 

Before joining the Detroit executive team in 2010, Hogle served in senior staff posts for the Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago and Indianapolis symphony orchestras. He was a founder of The Stewardship Group, a consulting and executive recruitment firm that facilitated the building of resources for a national client base. His career began as executive director of the Evansville Philharmonic (Indiana), one of the great regional orchestras in America. 

A native of Northeast Ohio, Hogle earned a Bachelor of Science degree in music management from the University of Evansville, a joint business and music degree program where he also studied trombone performance. He has served on the faculty of the Orchestra Leadership Academy of the League of American Orchestras and as a professor at Wayne State University in Detroit. He is a founding and current faculty member for the Masters in Arts Administration program at Chicago’s Roosevelt University. 

Hogle serves as a trustee of University Circle, Inc. and was a member of the Northeast Ohio Council on Higher Education (NOCHE) board of directors. In 2019, he was elected to The 50 Club of Cleveland.

Hogle and his wife Dr. Lauri Hogle, professor of music education at Oakland University (Michigan), make their home in Shaker Heights, Ohio. They have three adult children.