Former University of Otago senior lecturer Duncan Connors joined the management team at the orchestra last week.
Dr Connors said he was looking forward to having direct engagement with the community in his new role.
He wanted the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra (DSO) to be seen as an equal to the orchestras in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland.
"I think that’s our rightful place."
The orchestra was vital for the city’s music environment and made Dunedin a vibrant place to live.
"We, as an orchestra, can help shift perceptions and someone in Auckland will see our programme and say ‘You know what, let’s take a flight to Dunedin’."
However, for the orchestra to grow, it was going to need support from the local community, its sponsors and donors.
Dr Connors said he was looking for more commercial sponsors and private individuals to help fund the not-for-profit organisation that was already supported by companies including Forsyth Barr, phwealth as well as the Otago Community Trust.
He said Dunedin was the "dream" of New Zealand for people moving in from overseas. They had a vision of a different kind of life that involved art, culture and an orchestra.
DSO general manager Philippa Harris said Dr Connors brought a lot of skills and experience to the organisation, especially in gathering support from the community which it needed.
She said the pressure was on because grants from central and local government formed a large part of the orchestra’s funding and they were steadily falling behind inflationary increases.
"The balance of the power is shifting from reliance on local and central government to more of the community.
"This is the challenge and this is where Duncan comes in."
The funding was needed for the orchestra to continuing holding events at premium venues such as the Dunedin Town Hall.
Ms Harris said getting access to the town hall was a "complicated and very expensive exercise".
However, it was the only venue in Dunedin that could take on the orchestra’s larger events.
The town hall will host four of the orchestra’s events this year, but Ms Harris was hopeful it would host more in the future.
