Symphony Names New Conductor New Contract Also Signed By Mechetti, Music Director
Jung-Ho Pak, principal conductor of the Disney Young Persons Symphony and associate conductor of the San Diego Symphony, will become associate conductor of the Spokane Symphony Orchestra as it begins its 51st season.
Jonathan Martin, the symphony executive director, announced in letters to the symphony’s board of trustees and orchestra players that Pak, 34, signed a two-year agreement with the orchestra that begins in September.
The symphony has been without an associate conductor since Stefan Kozinski’s resignation in 1995.
News of Pak’s appointment came together with the announcement that Fabio Mechetti, the Spokane Symphony’s music director since 1993, had signed a new three-year contract. Although the symphony’s board authorized contract negotiations with Mechetti and Pak at a meeting on June 18, the announcement was withheld until the contracts were signed, Martin says. Salaries for Mechetti and Pak were not made public.
Pak will conduct four programs with the orchestra in his first season as associate beginning with the opening concert of the symphony at The Met series on Oct. 20.
“That will be his first official appearance,” Martin said, “but I think there may be a chance for our Spokane audience to meet Jung-Ho at a surprise appearance a little earlier than that.”
“In addition to the four concerts I will conduct with the orchestra,” Pak said, “I’ll be working with the orchestra’s education and audience development programs. I’m especially looking forward to working with Spokane music educators and doing workshops in the schools.”
Pak was chosen for the Spokane job following the auditions of seven finalists for the associate conductorship in May.
Pak, born in the San Francisco suburb of Burlingame, studied conducting at the San Francisco Conservatory with Michael Senturia and at the University of Southern California with Daniel Lewis. In 1983, he worked with Leonard Bernstein and Seiji Ozawa at the Tanglewood Festival.
In addition to his five seasons as music director of the Disney Young Persons Symphony Orchestra, Pak taught conducting and was music director of the University Orchestra at the University of California at Berkeley from 1992 to 1995.
Pak, like many conductors, holds multiple conducting positions. He currently is music director of the San Francisco-based Diablo Ballet, music director of the International Chamber Orchestra and associate conductor of the San Diego Symphony.
After assuming the associate conductorship in Spokane, he will retain his other conducting positions.
Pak intends to maintain his home in the Los Angeles area.
, DataTimes