L.A. Chamber Orchestra Executive Director Rachel Fine to depart

After more than four years leading the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Rachel Fine will step down as executive director Feb. 27, the organization’s board of directors announced on Tuesday.

Her exit follows the announcement last year that conductor Jeffrey Kahane will step down as music director in 2017 and will take the title of music director laureate at the end of his 20-year tenure.

Fine said she will be joining the DeVos Institute of Arts Management as a senior consultant. The institute is affiliated with the University of Maryland, but Fine said she will be staying in Los Angeles.

The L.A. Chamber Orchestra said it has launched a nationwide search for a new executive director.

“I think the organization is extremely well positioned right now,” Fine said. “It’s financially solid.”

The orchestra spent about $3.1 million in the fiscal year ending in 2013, according to audited financial statements. It reported a surplus of about $1.8 million for the year. Fine said the orchestra is forecasting another surplus for the current year.

Founded in 1968, the L.A. Chamber Orchestra holds concerts throughout Southern California, focusing on the Baroque repertoire but also performing other classical and contemporary works.

Prior to joining the orchestra in 2010, Fine served as executive director of the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus. She has also worked at the San Francisco-based Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. She is married to L.A. Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne.

Twitter: @DavidNgLAT