When the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra launches its 48th season on Saturday, it will usher in the last stage of a search for a new conductor.
“Five of our regular-season concerts will showcase our short list of five finalists,” said Sue Levine, BPO executive director. “Historically, we’ve been focused on the classical direction, but we’re looking to expand our family, outreach and pops concerts.
“That’s why this part of the process is so public, to ensure the buy-in of our audiences and greater community.”
The nationwide search began last October when BPO music director and principal conductor Theodore Kuchar announced that he would not renew his contract to better pursue a rigorous schedule of other recording and conducting commitments in the United States and Europe.
Kuchar’s last performance at the helm of the BPO will be on April 29, concluding a decade-long tenure that inspired both admiration and criticism among musicians and patrons.
“The early Phil under Ozzi Lehnert thrived because he was a master at bringing people into the hall,” said Levine. “Then Ted really focused on improving the quality of the orchestra worthy of guests artists like Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman.
“But in recent years, we lost our strength in community outreach. It’s important that our new conductor is creative in terms of programming, and very active in community building.”
Selected by a 10-member search committee from among 160 candidates, each of the finalists – Leslie B. Dunner, Angel Gil-Ordonez, Michael Butterman, Mariusz Smolij and Carolyn Chi-An Kuan – will guest-conduct a BPO concert, as well as present a pre-concert lecture, and meet and mingle with members of the Boulder community.
The finalists seemingly represent a range of musical styles, backgrounds and experiences, as well as ethnic diversity. Dunner will be first among them to debut with the BPO on Saturday.
“Colorado is a place of diversity and intellectuals, and I’m ready to test my mettle here,” said the native New Yorker, who currently serves as music director and principal conductor of The Joffrey Ballet in Chicago.
Indeed, Dunner – who won’t give his age, saying only that he is “not yet 50” – seems to embody just the kind of eclecticism for which Boulderites are known.
“I grew up being involved in African music and dance, and I was the youngest performer in the African pavilion in the New York World Fair,” said the avid clarinetist, composer and world traveler. “Later, I studied optical engineering, but I was extremely unhappy. When I finally decided to major in music, I developed an interest in conducting.”
From there, Dunner landed a long- term association with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in various conducing posts. And from 1994 through 2001, he served as an assistant conductor to Kurt Masur and the New York Philharmonic. Along the way, he received numerous honors, including the Distinguished Achievement and James Weldon Johnson awards from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
“A lot of people think conducting an orchestra is about exerting one’s will,” he said. “But I think it’s making chamber music on the largest scale.
“You have to think about the community, too, and establish a sense of trust with the audience. It’s about packaging what’s new and what’s familiar in a way that pushes the envelope, but not too far.”
Michael Butterman, who will take the podium on Oct. 29, seems just as promising a candidate.
“It’s important that the different arts collaborate and inform each other,” said the 39-year old, who is currently principal conductor for education and outreach of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, one of the only positions of its kind in the United States. “With creative programming, you can de-mystify the arts and create a sense of discovery.
“I know what music can do for a community, and I’m eager to put that into practice in Boulder.”
According to Levine, the search committee – including representatives of the community, the University of Colorado’s College of Music, and the BPO’s board, staff and musicians – will introduce the new music director and conductor in April 2006.
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Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra
The orchestra will bring in five candidates for conductor between now and March. Here’s the lineup:
SATURDAY|Leslie B. Dunner|Currently music director and principal conductor of The Joffrey Ballet
OCT. 1|Angel Gil-Ordonez|Music director of the Post-Classical Ensemble, director of orchestral studies at Wesleyan University and music director of the Wesleyan Ensemble of the Americas
OCT. 29|Michael Butterman|Principal conductor for education and outreach of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, associate conductor of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestr and music director of Opera Southwest
FEB. 4|Mariusz Smolij|Music director of the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra and music director and conductor of the Riverside Symphonia.
MARCH 25|Carolyn Chi-An Kuan|Artist-in-residence at the New York City Ballet
INFORMATION|Macky Auditorium, University of Colorado campus, Boulder|7:30 P.M.|$9-$75|Call 303-449-1343, ext. 2 or visit boulderphil.org for tickets and a full schedule of concerts, free pre-concert lectures and guest soloists.
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