Assistant Conductor of the Pacific (California) Symphony, Maxim Eshkenazy as serves as Music Director of the Bakersfield Youth Orchestra and Assistant Conductor at the Colburn School in Los Angeles. Previously, he was associated with the Pasadena Youth Symphony as its Music Director, and served as Music Director of the Music of Changes Chamber Orchestra, Assistant Conductor of the American Youth Symphony, and Assistant Conductor of the Herbert Zipper Chamber Orchestra. Mr. Eshkenazy regularly guest conducts Bulgaria’s major orchestras, including the Sofia Philharmonic, Classic FM Orchestra, Pleven Opera-Philharmonic Association, Bourgas Opera-Philharmonic Association. A strong proponent of new music, he is frequently involved in performing the music of contemporary composers. During the 2007-08 season, Mr. Eshkenazy shared the concert stage with noted violinist Shlomo Mintz in celebration of the State of Israel Independence Day. In February of 2010, he led the HSO’s highly successful Young People’s and Family concerts.

You may meet and ask questions of Maxim at the New Conductor Search Public Forum held Thursday, March 17, 2011 from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. in the Progress Bank lobby at 201 Williams Avenue. The forums are FREE, open to the public, and sponsored by Progress Bank.

Please use this thread to leave us your comments and opinions about Mr. Eshkenazy. We greatly appreciate your feedback as it will help shape the course of your HSO.

Considered one of America’s most promising and talented young conductors, Andrew Grams has already appeared with many of the great orchestras of the world including the Cleveland Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, the St. Louis Symphony, the Detroit Symphony, the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington D.C., and the orchestras of Baltimore, Dallas, Houston, New Jersey and others in the United States. On the international arena, he has conducted the Montreal Symphony, the Orchestre National de Lyon, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the Melbourne Symphony, the Orchestra of Santa Cecilia Rome, the Residentie Orchestra of the Hague, the Hamburg Symphony, and the Malmo Symphony to name a few.

A Maryland native raised in Severn, Andrew Grams began conducting at the age of 17. In 1999 he received a bachelor of music degree in violin performance from the Juilliard School, and in 2003 he received a conducting degree from the Curtis Institute of Music, where he worked with Otto-Werner Mueller.

You may meet and ask questions of Mr. Grams at the New Conductor Search Public Forum held Thursday, February 24, 2011 from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. in the Progress Bank lobby at 201 Williams Avenue. The forums are FREE, open to the public, and sponsored by Progress Bank.

Please use this thread to leave us your comments and opinions about Mr. Grams. We greatly appreciate your feedback as it will help shape the course of your HSO.

Guest conductor Daniel Boico, the fourth candidate in the HSO’s New Conductor Search, will take the podium leading the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra in “The Russians Are Coming!” on Saturday, February 12, 2011, in the Mark C. Smith Concert Hall, VBC at 7:30 p.m.

Called by critic Guiseppe Calliari an “undisputed star who combines a magnetic charisma with a skilled technique,” Daniel Boico is the Assistant Conductor of the New York Philharmonic since June, 2009. Mr. Boico debuted with the New York Philharmonic in January, 2009, and will lead all of the Philharmonic’s Young People’s Concerts, among other concerts, in the 2009-2010 season. In December 2009, Mr. Boico led the New York Philharmonic with soloist Itzhak Perlman in the “Concert to End Polio,” as part of Rotary International’s efforts to eradicate polio from the Earth. Mr. Boico was Apprentice Conductor with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra where he worked closely with, and was assistant to then Music Director Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez and Zubin Mehta. Born in Israel and raised in both Paris and the United States, Mr. Boico now resides in New York with his wife, Anastasia, and daughter Naomi.

You may also meet and ask questions of Mr. Boico at the New Conductor Search Public Forum held Thursday, February 10, 2011 from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. in the Progress Bank lobby at 2746 Carl T. Jones Drive. The forums are FREE, open to the public, and sponsored by Progress Bank.

Please use this thread to leave us your comments and opinions about Mr. Boico. We greatly appreciate your feedback as it will help shape the course of your HSO.

Guest conductor Carlos Riazuelo, the third candidate in the HSO’s New Conductor Search, will take the podium leading the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra in “Eroica” on Sunday, January 30, 2011, in the Randolph Fine Arts Building at 4915 Garth Road at 3:30 p.m.

Latin-American conductor Carlos Riazuelo has been praised by audiences, musicians and music critics throughout the world. Born in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela to Spanish immigrants, he began his music studies in violin and music theory in Caracas. His debut as a conductor at age twenty-three with the Chamber Orchestra of the Universidad de Carabobo earned him an immediate position as the music director of that ensemble. In 1980 he became the Artistic Director of the Orquesta Sinfonica Municipal de Caracas. Since 2009, he has been associate professor and director of orchestral studies at Louisiana State University’s School of Music and continues a busy guest conducting schedule.

You may also meet and ask questions of Mr. Riazuelo at the New Conductor Search Public Forum held Thursday, January 27, 2011 from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. in the Progress Bank lobby at 201 Williams Avenue. The forums are FREE, open to the public, and sponsored by Progress Bank.

Please use this thread to leave us your comments and opinions about Mr. Riazuelo. We greatly appreciate your feedback as it will help shape the course of your HSO.

Guest conductor Gregory Vajda, the second candidate in the HSO’s New Conductor Search, will take the podium leading the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra in “The Red Violin” on Saturday, January 22, 2011, in the VBC’s Mark C. Smith Concert Hall at 7:30 p.m.

Hailed as a “young titan” by the Montreal Gazette, Gregory Vajda has fast become one of the most sought-after conductors on the international scene. He currently holds the position of resident conductor of the Oregon Symphony Orchestra and was appointed Artistic and Music Director of Music in the Mountains, CA – the second conductor to hold that position in the festival’s 28-year history. You may see Mr. Vajda’s full biography on his website.

You may also meet and ask questions of Mr. Vajda at the New Conductor Search Public Forum held Thursday, January 20, 2011 from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. in the Progress Bank lobby at 201 Williams Avenue. The forums are FREE, open to the public, and sponsored by Progress Bank.  Please contact the HSO office for directions to this event.

Please use this thread to leave us your comments and opinions about Mr. Vajda. We greatly appreciate your feedback as it will help shape the course of your HSO.

You may also meet and ask questions of Mr. Wroe at the New Conductor Search Public Forum held Thursday, November 11, 2010 at 5:30 p.m. The forums are FREE, open to the public, and sponsored by Progress Bank. They will routinely be held in the lobby of a Progress Bank location. This forum, however, will be held at a private home in downtown Huntsville. Please contact the HSO office for directions to this event.

Please use this thread to leave us your comments and opinions about Mr. Wroe. We greatly appreciate your feedback as it will help shape the course of your HSO.

Please join us as the HSO embarks on this exciting quest to find the next great Music Director and Conductor for this fine orchestra! Help us make this vital decision through your participation in the FREE New Conductor Search Forums scheduled with each candidate and sponsored by Progress Bank, with your attendance at all concerts conducted by these candidates, and by your impressions and comments shared with us after each candidate has visited Huntsville.

New Conductor Search Public Forum Schedule:

DAVID WROE
Thursday, November 11, 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.
This event will be held at a private home in downtown Huntsville.
Admission: FREE

GREGORY VAJDA
Thursday, January 20, 2011, 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.
Progress Bank Lobby, 201 Williams Avenue
Admission: FREE

CARLOS RIAZUELO
Thursday, January 27, 2011, 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.
Progress Bank Lobby, 201 Williams Avenue
Admission: FREE

DANIEL BOICO
Thursday, February 10, 2011, 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.
Progress Bank Lobby, 2746 Carl T. Jones Drive
Admission: FREE

ANDREW GRAMS
Thursday, February 24, 2011, 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.
Progress Bank Lobby, 201 Williams Avenue
Admission: FREE

MAXIM ESHKENAZY
Thursday, March 17, 2011, 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.
Progress Bank Lobby, 201 Williams Avenue
Admission: FREE