William Vickery *

Music is in Bill Vickery’s blood.

The 56-year-old executive director of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra Society Inc. of Little Rock said he is just as excited playing music as he is organizing the musicians.

“I am passionate about music,” Vickery said. “Putting all the pieces of the puzzle together, making sure that it will happen is just as much a thrill for me as actually sitting there do-ing it.”

Since Vickery took over the nonprofit organization in 1997, ticket sales and donations have soared.

In 1997, ticket sales were $422,000, and for its fiscal year that ended June 30, 2004, sales were $1.47 million, a 347 percent increase.

Donations also increased from $420,000 in 1997 to $1.39 million in 2004, a 332 percent increase.

Vickery said ASO has benefited from the sometimes painful lessons he learned at previous jobs, including a stint as executive director at the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra.

“Always hire the smartest person you can,” he said. “And you get good people who are smart who are vitally interested in what you are doing and you work together to make things happen.”

His management philosophy is to make sure his door is always open, because everyone has something to contribute to ASO’s future.

With a budget of $3.5 million, the ASO performs more than 30 concerts at Robinson Center Music Hall in Little Rock annually. When Vickery started, ASO’s operating budget was $1.2 million.

But Vickery is most proud of the orchestra itself — every time it plays.

Several of ASO’s 70-plus members have to spend hours driving back and forth to Little Rock for practices and performances week after week, he said.

Still, ASO performs at a high level, Vickery said.

“I’m very proud of them for that,” he said.