Springfield Symphony Orchestra is scheduled to hold its second tryout next week for the vacant music director and conductor post.
A Texas symphony director's Sept. 22 tryout marked the first of six people looking to succeed Ron Spigelman, who took on the position of director of development and marketing for Springfield Little Theatre
in May after eight seasons as the symphony's conductor.
Each of the finalists is conducting a classical concert during the symphony's 78th season. The September concert was conducted by Andrés Franco, and other conductors and performance dates are Darko Butorac, Oct. 13; Marc Taddei, Nov. 3; Markand Thakar, Jan. 19, 2013; Kyle Pickett, March 23, 2013; and Diane Wittry, April 27, 2013.
Franco is the associate conductor of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra in Texas and executive director of Caminos del Inka Inc., a project to designed to expand the music of the Americas.
Butorac, music director of the Missoula Symphony in Montana and the principal conductor of the Fidenza Opera Festival in Fidenza, Italy, is scheduled to conduct a concert featuring works by Beethoven, Mozart and Brahms, according to a news release.
“When people come to the concert hall to hear a performance and something moves them, they take that energy back to wherever they are in the community,” Butorac said in the release. “When people are inspired, they are moved to perform better at whatever they do. As a result, great art directly enhances the quality of living in a community.”
After each of the concerts, audience members will score the conductors, and the average scores will factor into the Springfield Symphony Board of Directors' final decision. Conductors also are being evaluated by staff and orchestra members.
Biographical information on upcoming conductors:
- Pickett is music director of the Juneau Symphony in Alaska and the North State Symphony in California.
- Taddei is music director of the Wellington Orchestra in New Zealand.
- Thakar works as music director of the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra in Minnesota, the music director of the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra and principal conductor of the Duluth Festival Opera.
- Wittry is music director and conductor for Allentown Symphony Orchestra in Pennsylvania and the artistic director for the International Cultural Exchange Program for Classical Musicians with the Sarajevo Philharmonic in Bosnia.
Tickets to the tryouts are available at
MissouriStateTix.com.
