People
Fairfax orchestra to begin tryouts for new conductor
By: William C. Flook
Examiner Staff Writer
September 16, 2008
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Conductor Guillermo Figueroa with the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra.
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Hudson retired this summer after 36 years with the acclaimed county orchestra.
The pool of replacements has been narrowed down to six finalists, each of whom will conduct a concert for the 2008-2009 season. Five are men, and one is a woman. Half of them were born in the United States. They are all relatively young, with the oldest 50 years old, said Cathy Smith, marketing director for the symphony.
“All of them are top of their class, all of them award winners,” she said. “Impeccable credentials from the best music schools and the best conductors.”
The first performance, on Sept. 20, features Paul Haas, a 37-year-old graduate of Yale University and Julliard School who has worked with the San Antonio Symphony, Fort Worth (Texas) Symphony Orchestra and Rochester (N.Y.) Philharmonic Orchestra. He has guest-conducted for the National Symphony Orchestra.
The other finalists are Laura Jackson, Marcelo Lehninger, Daniel Meyer, Gregory Vajda and Christopher Zimmerman. The search process began two years ago, with 249 candidates sending in their applications.
“To get it down from 249 to 100 was not too difficult,” Smith said.
“To get it down from 100 to 30 was a little harder. To get it down from 30 to six was like pulling nails, one at a time.”
Each candidate will choose a guest artist, and one of the pieces he or she chooses must be new or rarely performed. After each concert, patrons will be asked to fill out a survey on their opinions. The orchestra plans to select the new music director after the upcoming season.
