The San Luis Obispo Symphony announced its five music director finalists who will lead the orchestra in guest engagements during its 2016-17 Classics in the Cohan season. Selected from a pool of 134 applicants by the Symphony Selection Committee that included four board members, six orchestra members and one community leader, the five finalists are Andrew Sewell, music director of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, who will lead the SLO Symphony Opening Night (October 8, 2016); Jose-Luis Novo, music director of the Binghamton Symphony (NY) and Annapolis Symphony (MD) (November 12, 2016); Nan Washburn, music director of the Michigan Philharmonic (February 4, 2017); David Handel, music director of the National Symphony Orchestra Bolivia (March 11, 2017); Rei Hotoda, associate conductor of the Utah Symphony Orchestra, (May 6, 2017).
Season subscribers will have the opportunity to comment on each conductor after their performance to get the audience perspective. All subscriber comments will be reviewed by the Selection Committee prior to final selection. Classics in the Cohan season tickets for new subscribers will be available starting June 1, 2016 and can be purchased by calling the Symphony office at (805) 543-3533.
“The search process has been so exciting with extremely talented applicants from around the globe,” says Symphony General Manager Francie Levy. “We are so eager for the upcoming season, to watch each one of these dynamic conductors will be a thrill. We can hardly wait for the season to begin!”
Selection Process
The Music Director Selection Committee was formed in 2015 with Board members, Symphony musicians and a chosen community leader. Members of the committee are:
Board Members
David Hamilton (Chair), Fred Friedman, Mary Tanner and Dwyne Willis
Orchestra Musicians
Jerry Boots, Karen Loewi Jones, Lisa Nauful, Paul Severtson, Clifton Swanson and Rich Ward
Community Leader and Symphony Supporter
Dr. Brendan McAdams
The selection process began last fall with a joint Board/Orchestra strategic planning session and, in February 2016, a call for applications. The review process involved all members of the Selection Committee screening 134 applications. A quarterfinal round was composed of 36 applicants. The Selection Committee was divided into three teams and each team evaluated 12 candidates. Video was reviewed of each candidate conducting and references were called. The 36 candidates were paired down to twelve candidates for the semifinal round. The three groups were then given four candidates (not the same ones they evaluated previously) and the committee did extensive research on each, called references and spoke to the various orchestras they had conducted previously. Each was also interviewed via Skype. The finalists were informed on April 29.
Andrew Sewell (Classics in the Cohan Opening Night: October 8, 2016)
Andrew Sewell has enjoyed fifteen seasons as music director of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra in Madison. During his tenure, Maestro Sewell has expanded the repertoire and provided innovative and adventuresome programming to all their concert programs. His previous appointments include music director with the Wichita Symphony, Mansfield Symphony (OH), and resident conductor of the Toledo Symphony. A native of New Zealand, Maestro Sewell received his music training on the violin, piano and cornet, and began conducting at age 16. Six years later, he made his professional opera debut with the Mercury Opera and the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra. He has guest conducted the Detroit Symphony, Eugene Symphony, Oklahoma Mozart Festival, Monterey Symphony and National Symphony of Mexico. Andrew Sewell holds a Master of Music Degree with Honors in conducting from the University of Michigan.
http://www.wcoconcerts.org/about/andrew-sewell/
Jose Luis Novo (Classics in the Cohan II: November 12, 2016)
Music Director and conductor of the Binghamton Philharmonic in New York and Annapolis Symphony Orchestra in Maryland, José-Luis Novo began his musical studies at the conservatory of Valladolid—his hometown in Spain, obtaining the degree of Profesor Superior de Violín. He continued his studies at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels, where he earned a first prize in violin. In 1988, he came to the United States as a Fulbright Scholar, obtaining both Master of Music and Master of Musical Arts Degrees from Yale University, where he was also bestowed the Frances G. Wickes Award and the Yale School of Music Alumni Association Prize. As a conductor, he served as assistant conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony and Cincinnati Pops Orchestras, and the Cincinnati Youth Orchestra. In 2014, he was featured in the winter issue of the League of American Orchestra Symphony Magazine in an article about emerging Hispanic conductors in the USA.
http://www.annapolissymphony.org/music-director
Nan Washburn (Classics in the Cohan III: February 4, 2017)
Winner of The American Prize of Orchestral Conducting and 19 ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming from the League of American Orchestras, Nan Washburn is one of the most dynamic conductors working in the U.S. today. She is currently the music director of the Michigan Philharmonic and was also appointed the artistic director and principal conductor for the Michigan Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, an ensemble that she founded in 2003. She has also served as the artistic director and conductor of the West Hollywood Orchestra, music director of Orchestra Sonoma, the Camellia Symphony in Sacramento, principal conductor of the Channel Islands Symphony, the Acalanes Chamber Orchestra, the American Jazz Theater, and director of the San Francisco State University Symphony Orchestra. She made her debut conducting opera in Los Angeles. Washburn first came to national attention as a co-founder, artistic director, and associate conductor of the San Francisco-based Women’s Philharmonic from 1980 to 1990, during which time she became one of the leading authorities on and advocates for orchestral works of women composers. Washburn earned her Bachelors of Music Degree with highest honors from the University of California at Santa Barbara, receiving the Chancellor’s Scholar Award, and earned her Master’s Degree in performance from New England Conservatory of Music.
http://www.nanwashburn.com/bio.html
David Handel (Classics in the Cohan IV: March 11, 2017)
David Handel’s passionate leadership and engaging personality has made him a favorite with orchestras and audiences on four continents. A disciple of Kurt Masur and Gustav Meier, he was named music director of the National Symphony Orchestra Bolivia at an early age. Building that organization into a model of artistic and organizational growth has led him on to further appointments in Argentina, Chile and now as principal guest conductor of the Moscow City Symphony – Russian Philharmonic, one of the Russian Federation’s preeminent orchestral ensembles. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Handel received a Bachelor of Musical Arts Degree in violin, philosophy and composition, and a Master’s Degree in orchestral conducting. Even before receiving his graduate degree in conducting, Maestro Kurt Masur took Handel under his wing as his apprentice conductor at the Leipzig Gewandhaus and later invited him to conduct the New York Philharmonic in a preview of young conducting talent at Carnegie Hall. He has represented the United States around the world as a cultural ambassador through U.S. State Department Cultural Specialists and Public Diplomacy Programs, conducting orchestras in the Middle East and Cuba.
http://www.davidhandel.info/biography-full.html
Rei Hotoda (Classics in the Cohan V/Season Finale: May 6, 2017)
Rei Hotoda is rapidly becoming one of America’s most sought after and dynamic artists. Ms. Hotoda is currently associate conductor of the Utah Symphony Orchestra—the first female to hold this position in the Orchestra’s 75-year history. She has also held assistant conductor positions with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Winnipeg Orchestra. She has appeared as a guest conductor with many of today’s leading ensembles, including the symphony orchestras of Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Edmonton, Fort Worth, Jacksonville, Utah, Toronto, and Winnipeg. Her repertoire spans the masterful staples of the classical canon to works by the leading composers of today. She is equally at home leading the orchestra from the piano as from the podium. A consummate advocate of new music, Ms. Hotoda has championed and recorded compositions by women composers, including Vivian Fung, Jennifer Higdon, and Kotoka Suzuki. Ms. Hotoda studied conducting with Gustav Meier at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. She holds a Bachelor of Music Degree in piano performance from the Eastman School of Music and a Doctor of Musical Arts in piano performance from the University of Southern California.
With the selection of one of the finalists, he/she will become the ninth music director/conductor in San Luis Obispo Symphony’s storied history.
Conducting photos of each candidate are available upon request.