Feature Story: “Celebrating Stephen Schachman, Board Chair”

Celebrating

Stephen Schachman

Board Chair

Stephen Schachman grew up in Philadelphia, but that was just the start of what became a very diverse life path.

“I was a Marine Corps officer, later I was given the opportunity to run a natural gas distribution company at a relatively young age, and I have worked with the federal government and did some lobbying for the subsidiary of an international law firm. You could say, I’ve had quite a varied career.”

Schachman brought that diverse experience in communication and collaboration to the Bozeman Symphony and Symphonic Choir in 2018, when he began serving as Chairman of the Board.

“As Board Chair for the Symphony, my job is not to set policy — it’s to ensure that we can come to conclusions and get everybody involved and working toward our decisions.”

Arriving in Bozeman in 2011 with a longtime love and appreciation for symphonic music, Stephen didn’t know what to expect when he first volunteered with the Bozeman Symphony leadership. What he found was an organization more dedicated to excellence than he could have imagined, let alone one in a relatively small community in Montana.

“I’ve served on a number of nonprofit boards, and I think this is probably one of the best boards of directors I’ve ever been involved with,” says Schachman. “There are a lot of type A personalities, but they seem to have the ability not to have to put their personal stamp on things. If our staff brings something to the board that’s well thought-out and well-presented, the board will say, ‘yes, let’s do it.’”

Schachman also points out that the board is more than just manager types, they are people who get involved. “When we need somebody on the board to do something, there’s always someone who steps up and says ‘well, I’ll do that.’ They’re giving of their money, their time, and their wisdom.” 2022 marks Schachman’s last year as Board Chair. He will forever look back on his time with the Bozeman Symphony as an incredibly gratifying experience, but for him, it all comes back to the music.

“To watch these musicians who devote so much time and energy to what they do, and to experience the fantastic music they produce, it’s truly wonderful,” points out Schachman. “And the love our community has for this

Symphony — I could walk out on stage before they played a note and say ‘Why don’t we give these musicians a standing ovation?’ and the audience would do exactly that, because they love them so much.”

For Stephen Schachman, to be able to help cultivate such a positive force for his community, through leadership

and collaboration, is clearly something he’ll always look back on with a deep fondness.

“It’s incredibly gratifying to watch the growth of all of this and be part of the positive change. The healing and the bringing people together through symphonic music, is, to me extraordinary.”