Our Conductor Search Begins!

This season will be bittersweet for our symphony. As we’ve said goodbye to our Maestro Brian Groner, we now begin the search for our new music director. Brian left behind an amazing legacy, and we are faced with the challenge of finding another great leader to bring us forward.

     After a long and through search, we’ve narrowed the field to four finalists, and I can’t wait for you to meet them. They are all skilled conductors, dedicated educators, and passionate community advocates. Each will share both new music and classics on their concert. Each will work with a soloist and get to know our orchestra both on and off stage.

     More importantly, we want YOU to get to know them. We will have times during their week in Appleton for you to see them in both formal and informal settings, answering questions, and discussing why they are excited to come to our area and join our orchestra.

     Each concert week will be followed up by our team collecting your thoughts and comments. We will have comment cards and surveys at the hall for each concert, as well as emailed surveys, and website forms. Please feel free to give us your candid feedback, ask questions, and become a part of this process.

     I can’t tell you how important this is to all of us. Let us hear from you! We are hoping the person we hire is part of our community, both on stage and off, for a very long time. Please let us know your impressions and help us make a very informed and inclusive decision.

     We would love for you to become a season ticket holder, and then you will receive updates from us throughout the season, letting you know about opportunities to get involved.

  We’re grateful for the 23 years of artistry and dedication Maestro Groner contributed to this community, and we look forward to our next chapter under the baton of our new director. 

     Please scroll down to learn more about our first conductor candidate, Howard Hsu, and join us this Saturday, October 6, at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center for our 2018-19 Opening Night!

     -  Jamie LaFreniere, Executive Director

BUY YOUR TICKETS TO OPENING NIGHT ONLINE NOW!

Save the dates!

October 6, 2018: Conductor Howard Hsu

                  Jonathan Bailey Holland—Motor City Remix

                  Samuel Barber– Violin Concerto, Op. 14, Soloist Kelly Hall-Tompkins

                  Johannes Brahms—Symphony No. 2, Op. 73 in D major

                 

November 17, 2018: (No candidate for this concert)

Disney’s Pixar in Concert! Enjoy scores from your favorite Disney Pixar films! A visually stunning, high-definition, multi-media family show!

January 26, 2019: Conductor Wesley Schulz
Chris Rogerson– Luminosity

Jennifer Higdon– blue cathedral

Aaron Copland– Clarinet Concerto, Soloist Jorge Montilla Moreno

Sergei Rachmaninoff– Symphonic Dances, Op. 45

March 9, 2019: Conductor Alastair Willis

Mason Bates– Mothership

Dmitry Shostakovich– Cello Concerto No. 1, Op. 107 in E flat Major,

Soloist Alexander Hersh

Sergei Prokofiev– Romeo & Juliet, Selections from Suites 1 and 2

May 11, 2019: Conductor Kevin Sütterlin
Adam Hochstatter– My Name is Aiden

Jim Pugh– Trombone Concerto, Soloist Thomas Stark

César Franck– Symphony in D minor

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We start the season on October 6 with Conductor Howard Hsu. We've had a fun week with him visiting Appleton East High School, Lawrence University, 91.1 the Avenue, and getting to know our board and donors. Last night was our first rehearsal with the full group, and we continue with a strings-only rehearsal tonight. We can't wait to get in the P.A.C. hall for the first time on Friday night with special guest violinist Kelly Hall-Tompkins, friends from our season underwriters at The Boldt Company, and students from Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Boys & Girls Club. It will be a busy weekend, we we can't wait to share this music with you!

Howard Hsu at the Fox Cities P.A.C. (Photo: Graham Washatka)

Learn a little more about our Conductor Howard Hsu:

Howard Hsu is the Music Director of the Valdosta (GA) Symphony Orchestra, and serves as Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Orchestra Studies at Valdosta State University. Under his leadership, the Valdosta Symphony was selected as the 2014 winner of the American Prize in Orchestral Performance (community division). He has performed with world-renowned artists such as Robert McDuffie, Simone Dinnerstein, Jennifer Frautschi, Wendy Warner, Rachel Barton Pine, Stanford Olsen, Alexander Ghindin, Alexander Schimpf, Katia Skanavi, Awadagin Pratt, Amy Schwartz Moretti, and the Empire Brass, and has introduced live classical music to thousands of children in the Southern Georgia region. He conducted the world premiere of James Oliverio’s Trumpet Concerto No. 1: World House, the U.S. premiere of Ned McGowan’s Concerto for iPad and Orchestra (Rotterdam Concerto 2), and has given the Georgia premieres of Fernande Decruck’s Sonata for Saxophone and Orchestra, several of the Debussy/Matthews Preludes, and Jonathan Bailey Holland’s Motor City Dance Mix. Hsu has appeared as a guest conductor with the Hartford (CT) Symphony Orchestra, Macon (GA) Symphony, New Britain (CT) Symphony, and Bronx (NY) Arts Ensemble. Hsu received his D.M.A. from the University of Connecticut, his M.M. from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and his B.S. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Visit www.howardhsuconductor.com for more information.