The Board of Directors of the Allentown Symphony Association has announced the hiring of Alfred O. Jacobsen as its new Executive Director.

A reception for Jacobsen will be held at 5:30 p.m. Sept, 22, Rodale Community Room, Miller Symphony Hall, prior to the opening 2018-19 season concert at 7:30 p.m. of the Allentown Symphony Orchestra.

Jacobsen will be introduced by ASO artistic director and conductor Diane Wittry. Entertainment will be by the Peter Paulsen Trio. The event will be catered by Karen Hunter. To attend, RSVP by Sept. 13 to the Miller Symphony Hall box office or web site.

Jacobsen, with more than 12 years of experience as an arts administrator, was Director of Corporate Support at the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts.

Jacobsen succeeds Diane Scott, acting interim ASA executive director, who was in charge following the departure of Sheila Evans, ASA executive director, whose resignation was accepted by the ASA board Nov. 10, 2017.

The ASA search committee, made up of board members and community leaders, went through a six-month process of an extensive national search. The list of applicants was narrowed to a final group of five. After interviewing the five candidates, Jacobsen was chosen.

Jacobsen visited Allentown to meet the ASA staff and the board. Jacobsen is expected to arrive with his family this fall. His official start date is in October.

The Pittsburgh Symphony is a 122-year old ensemble considered one of the greatest orchestras in the world. Heinz Hall, a historic theater in downtown Pittsburgh, has served as home of the Pittsburgh Symphony for more than 46 years.

Jacobsen was responsible for corporate fundraising and is the primary fundraiser for Pittsburgh Symphony’s touring activities, which have included performances in Europe and New York City in recent years.

Prior to joining the Pittsburgh Symphony in September 2008, Jacobsen held positions at the Westchester, N.Y., Philharmonic and the Anderson Center for the Performing Arts, Binghamton, N.Y.

Jacobsen is a member of the League of American Orchestras, where he was a finalist for the League’s Orchestra Management Fellowship Program and participated in the Essentials of Orchestra Management seminar in 2007.

He was a member of Leadership Pittsburgh Inc.’s Leadership Development Initiative XXIV class in 2016-17. The nine-month program provided opportunities for high-potential emerging leaders to strengthen their leadership skills, increase their knowledge of the Pittsburgh community, connect with a cross-sector network of peers and heighten their civic involvement.

Jacobsen was a panelist for 2017 Project Support Grants administered by Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, a Cleveland-based granting organization.

Jacobsen is an amateur French horn musician and has held roster positions at community orchestras in New York and Pennsylvania.

Jacobsen, born and raised in the New York City area, received a Bachelor of Arts in Music and a Bachelor of Science in Management from Binghamton University (SUNY) and the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom. He received an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz Graduate School of Business.

He and his wife Necole are the parents of a daughter, Megan, and a son, AJ.

Tickets: Miller Symphony Hall box office, 23 N. Sixth St., Allentown; allentownsymphony.org; 610-432-6715