A season of ‘Discovery’ for Coeur d’Alene Symphony Orchestra
It’s a contest of conductors.
The Coeur d’Alene Symphony Orchestra will use their new season to feature candidates for the organization’s artistic director position. Each concert in the Voyage of Discovery season will be led by a different conductor, beginning with this weekend’s “Discover Europe” concert, featuring Danh Pham, conductor for the Washington State University Symphony Orchestra.
The candidates aim to replace David Demand, who left the symphony after 15 years to pursue other interests.
Pham, originally from Honolulu, has been a guest conductor and clinician for several international ensembles, including a recent stint as conductor-in-residence at the Wuhan Conservatory of Music and Huazhong University in Central China. In addition to the WSU Symphony, Pham conducts WSU opera and musical theater and teaches courses at the university.
Pham said it isn’t uncommon in the orchestral world for artistic director finalists to be given an entire concert and rehearsal cycle.
“It gives the hiring committee the opportunity to see who each candidate is and how they interact with the musicians and the community,” Pham said. “It’s not just how they respond and acclimate themselves to an area, but also how they connect with the audience and with the program.”
Pham was given about five weeks to prep the concert, with the symphony meeting once per week ahead of the shows.
Much of the season’s musical selections are planned for each conductor ahead of time, but Pham said each finalist is also tasked with selecting a piece for their concerts.
“I thought it was a clever way of measuring several things,” Pham said. “It’s testing the judgment of their finalists on how they put (a piece) in and the pacing of the show.”
Pham’s selection is Franz von Suppe’s “Light Cavalry Overture,” a work that experienced musicians usually know well and that audiences often recognize, Pham said. This weekend’s performances will also include Sergei Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2 and the beloved Fifth Symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven.
Pham believes familiar music can be an appealing access point for audiences as well as an opportunity to perform the classics in new and exciting ways.
“It’s just beloved music, and it’s endured for centuries,” he said. “It’s like a great home cooked meal – it makes people feel comfortable but of course we always want to provide little surprises.”
Allison Morgan, principal second violin, has performed with the Coeur d’Alene Symphony for more than 10 years. She said the experience of bringing in guest conductors has so far been a new challenge.
“I think it’s nice for our group to get different tastes of how different conductors feel,” Morgan said. “One might be more artistic, one might be more skilled in the technical field.”
She said Pham’s process has been a good fit for the start of the season.
“He has a wonderful attitude and a good artistic style,” Morgan said. “You can tell he has a passion for it, but he appreciates that people have lives.”
The symphony’s season premiere will also feature a virtuoso violin soloist - Yesong Sophie Lee, a 13-year-old phenom from Seattle who won last year’s Menuhin International Junior Violin Competition in London. She made her orchestral debut at age 7, and has been featured on NPR’s “From the Top.”
“Forget the fact that she’s young – she’s an astounding performer for any age,” Pham said.
Morgan was amazed by Lee when she performed with the symphony a couple years ago as part of the organization’s Young Artists Competition.
“She’s just a powerhouse,” Morgan said. “She is confident for her age but really eager to learn. She is just a technical genius and I absolutely cannot wait to see what the last two years have done for her playing… I would think for any young string player it would put a fire under them.”
Pham said the mix of old (Beethoven) and new (13-year-old phenoms) is all about continuing to encourage passion for the arts with musicians and the community at large. Whoever leads the orchestra going forward will be a conductor that inspires that passion, he said..
“We’re always pouring gasoline making sure that fire to perform continues, and we’re wanting to share that fire,” he said.
About the season:
“Discover Europe” – Oct. 6-7
Conducted by Danh Pham, from Hawaii, who teaches and conducts the symphony orchestra at Washington State University. Featuring von Suppe’s “Light Cavalry Overture,” Prokofiev’s violin Concerto No. 2 and Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. Violin soloist Yesong Sophie Lee.
Pham has performed and led orchestras all around the world, including the Wuhan Conservatory of Music and Huazhong University in Central China. In 2018 he makes his debut with the Hubei Symphony Orchestra in China and is a producer and editor on several album recordings by Albany and Emeritus Records.
“Holiday Discoveries” – Dec. 1-2
Conducted by Spanish candidate Barry Araújo Kolman, from New York. Featuring Mika Hood, principal cellist of the Coeur d’Alene Symphony, playing Bloch’s “Schelomo,” and music from the holidays.
Kolman has served as leader of the Shenandoah Symphony Orchestra, the Madison Symphony Orchestra and has been a guest conductor for the St. Petersburg Philharmonic in Russia, the Orquestra do Norte in Portugal and many others. He has a number of recordings and is the author of the book, “The Language of Music Revealed.”
“Generations of Discovery” – Jan. 19-20
Conducted by French candidate Pierre-Alain Chevalier, from Houston. He will be conducting “Carnival of the Animals” and other favorites, with the Coeur d’Alene Youth Orchestra playing on selected pieces. Winners of the Youth Melody Contest (up to grade 6) also featured.
In 2016, Chevalier was named a winner of the International Conductors Workshop and Competition in Atlanta. He has served as the artistic director of the Baytown Symphony Orchestra and the founder of the Bayou City Symphony, and has been an instructor at several colleges.
“Discovering Genius” – March 16-17
Conducted by Venezuelan conductor Jorge Luís Uzcategui from Spokane, leading winners from the symphony’s National Young Artist’s Competition, brilliant performers from all over the globe.
Uzcategui has conducted members from distinguished orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic and the New York Philharmonic. He won First Prize at the International Conducting Competition organized by the Parana’ Symphony Orchestra in Brazil. He is assistant conductor for the Spokane Symphony, and founder of the Backyard Academy Symphony Orchestra, an organization dedicated to teaching music to children from low-income families in Los Angeles.
“Discover a New World” – May 4-5
Featuring Czech conductor Jan Pellant, from Lexington, Kentucky, leading the orchestra in the Dvorak Symphony No. 9, better known as the “New World” Symphony.
Pellant is musical director for the Lexington Chamber Orchestra and has conducted the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, the Prague Symphony Orchestra and many more. A native of the Czech Republic, Pellant has led the Prague Karlin Theater Orchestra on an 11-city tour of Romania and led the Berlin Newklassiker Symphony Orchestra on a New Year’s concert tour of China.
Read more about the candidates at www.CdASymphony.org/ the-conductors/