Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, April 25, 1995 TAG: 9504250123
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KEVIN KITTREDGE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Also on the symphony's short list are the assistant conductor of the Indianapolis Symphony, and the resident conductors of symphonies in Houston and Detroit. Resident conductors work with the symphony on a day-to-day basis, though other conductors typically direct those orchestras during concerts.
Symphony Society President Briggs Andrews said he was "thrilled" with the quality of the five finalists - all of whom are men. "They are each exceptional musicians with remarkable conducting experience."
Each candidate will conduct the symphony in a concert of classics during the 1995-96 season. A sixth concert will be conducted by the Roanoke Valley Choral Society's artistic director, Jeffrey Sandborg, in April, 1996.
Each candidate will spend several days in Roanoke to meet with, and be assessed by, musicians, community leaders and other symphony supporters.
In a press conference called to announce the finalists Monday morning, Andrews also credited Bond with putting Roanoke on the nation's musical map.
Bond, who has said she is leaving to pursue guest conducting opportunities and spend more time on her composing career, gave her last Roanoke concert at the Civic Center Monday night. She will conduct the orchestra in the final concert of her 9-year tenure tonight at Virginia Tech's Burruss Hall auditorium.
"Thanks to Victoria, we're positioned very well for moving into the future," Andrews said.
The finalists, winnowed from an original list of198 applicants from North America, Europe and Asia, are as follows:
Leslie Dunner, resident conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Dunner also is music director of the Dearborn Symphony Orchestra and music advisor to the Harlem Festival Orchestra. He is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and holds advanced degrees from Queens College and the University of Cincinnati.
Yong-Yan Hu, music director and conductor of the Lincoln (Neb.) Orchestra. Hu previously was principal conductor of the Central Philharmonic of Beijing, and an associate conductor of the Savannah (Ga.) Symphony Orchestra. He has studied at Yale University and at Juilliard.
Ming-Feng Hsin, conductor of the South Shore Symphony Orchestra in Long Island. Hsin is a graduate of Juilliard School and a frequent guest conductor in Taiwan.
Stephen Stein, conductor-in-residence of the Houston Symphony. Stein formerly was music director of the Anchorage Symphony and resident conductor in Detroit - where another candidate, Dunner, is now. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California and Northwestern University, and has guest-conducted many U.S. orchestras.
David Wiley, assistant conductor of the Indianapolis Symphony. A pianist and composer, Wiley holds degrees from Indiana University, Tufts, and the New England Conservatory. He is the winner of the 1993 Aspen Music Festival Conducting Prize, and returned to that festival as assistant conductor in 1994.
by CNB