As the Phoenix Symphony prepares to launch a new season the weekend of Oct. 3-5, the search for the symphony’s next Virginia G. Piper music director continues with several leading candidates set to serve as guest conductors.
“We’re at a remarkable moment for the Phoenix Symphony,” says orchestra CEO Peter Kjome.
It’s an exciting process, he says, a bit more than a week ahead of the symphony’s opening performances of Dvořák’s “New World” Symphony.
“And as that process approaches its conclusion, we have programmed a season that features the tremendous breadth and depth of our musicians,” Kjome added.
That extends from the symphony’s classical concerts — such as Tchaikovsky’s Orchestral Suite No. 3, the Sibelius Violin Concerto and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition — to its pops concerts, holiday programs and the symphony providing live scores to beloved films.
Phoenix Symphony promises ‘a season of tremendous variety’
It all adds up to what Kjome sees as “a season of tremendous variety.”
“It’s a really exciting way to begin the season,” Kjome says, “and we’re thrilled with the community’s strong response to having him come to town and doing music from the films of Tim Burton.”
Symphony film series features ‘Return of the Jedi,’ ‘Home Alone’
This season’s film series includes the symphony performing along to “Home Alone,” “How to Train Your Dragon,” “Back to the Future” and “Star Wars Return of the Jedi.”
“The movies are a wonderful way to welcome people of all ages to the symphony,” Kjome says.
“And a lot of times we find with our films in particular, those might be people who have never been to the symphony before, maybe hadn’t thought about coming to the symphony, and then once they’re there and hear, for example, music written by John Williams played by a full orchestra, they think ‘I might like to come back and hear some other some other concerts by the symphony.’”
The pops series also features “Dolly Parton’s Threads: My Songs in Symphony.” And the final concert of the season, “Igor DAMN Stravinsky,” is a mash-up of Stravinsky’s “Petrouchka” and Kendrick Lamar’s hip-hop masterpiece, “DAMN,” created and conducted by Steve Hackman, who did a mash-up of Beyonce hits and Beethoven in past seasons.
“That’s a testament to our desire to be really innovative and dynamic, trying new and different things and exploring other types of music,” Kjome says.
Coffee Classic will return to Symphony Hall this season
“And one of the things that we heard is there’s a lot of interest in education,” Kjome says. “There’s a lot of interest in more daytime performances and somewhat shorter formats. And that led to the return of Coffee Classics.”
The Coffee Classics concerts will take place at 11 a.m. on Friday mornings at Symphony Hall.
“We used to have a series called Coffee Classics and this is going to be a very inspiring evolution of Coffee Classics. Those will be about 90 minutes without intermission featuring a lot of conversation with the conductor and musicians. And of course, as implied by the name, there will be complimentary coffee in the lobby.”
One of the symphony’s goals, Kjome says, is to bring people together and “create connection through musical experiences.”
Here’s the latest on Phoenix Symphony’s music director search
This is all, of course, while searching for the ideal candidate to lead the Phoenix Symphony into the future as music director.
The interview process that began in early 2023 when Tito Muñoz, who held the title for a decade, announced his decision to end his tenure, agreeing to stay through the conclusion of the 2023-24 season.
“The choice of the music director is one of the most important decisions an orchestra can make,” Kjome says.
“And as is the case with orchestras across the country, our search is a multiyear process partly because we are inviting conductors to come and lead concerts on the stage of Symphony Hall so we can get to know those conductors, their musicianship and their leadership, but also so they can get to know us.”
As to what the symphony is looking for, Kjome says, “We want to make sure that we have someone who is passionate about our mission, not only in performing exceptional concerts on the stage of Symphony Hall, but also in our important work outside of the concert hall and in the community. It is necessary but not sufficient for our next leader to be a brilliant artist.”
They want a community builder to foster the community engagement work that’s at the heart of the symphony’s mission.
Kjome said he feels the Phoenix Symphony’s community engagement work and education programs are among the strongest in the nation.
“We’ve seen in response from colleagues and other orchestras that Phoenix is really being increasingly looked at as a national model for what the modern symphony can be for its community. And so, in the choice of our music director, there are some people who are brilliant musicians who may not be as passionate about their work in the community. We really want to have someone who has it all.”
The symphony isn’t sharing details on which candidates are on the shortlist. But the search committee is excited with the progress that’s been made in a search that started with more than 100 candidates.
“We know that it’s headed toward what’s going to be a really exciting and successful conclusion,” Kjome says.
To that end, the season opens with Paolo Bortolameolli, associate conductor of the LA Philharmonic, returning in the guest conductor role.
“We felt it was really important for us to take the time and invite some additional people to come and lead concerts for the orchestra,” Kjome says.
“And many of the people who were with us last year were leading concerts with the Phoenix Symphony for the first time. So in the spirit of continuing to deepen those relationships and understandings, we’re having them come back and lead the orchestra a second time. It’s all part of these continuing conversations to find that person who just has a deep passion about our mission on and off the stage.”
