In Tuesday’s (6/1) Grand Forks Herald (North Dakota), Paulette Tobin writes, “After a nearly two-year search, the Greater Grand Forks Symphony Orchestra has hired Alexander Platt of Chicago as its musical director. Platt, one of five finalists in an international search, visited Grand Forks in October and conducted the symphony’s ‘Haunting Music’ concert. Educated at Yale, he was a conducting fellow at both Aspen and Tanglewood and then at King’s College Cambridge under a British Marshall Scholarship. Platt is music director of the Waukesha (Wis.) Symphony Orchestra and the Marion (Ind.) Philharmonic and has combined a commitment to regional orchestras with projects on the international scene. … Former GGFSO music director James Hannon announced his resignation in 2008. More than 80 people applied for the position, and five visited Grand Forks as symphony guest conductors. … Platt, who also just accepted a music director position with the LaCrosse (Wis.) Symphony Orchestra, will take over his new position in Grand Forks on July 1. Before 14 seasons with Waukesha Symphony Orchestra (which has become The Wisconsin Philharmonic), he spent 12 seasons as music director of the nearby Racine (Wis.) Symphony Orchestra, according to his website biography.” Platt was one of eight conductors to participate in the 2009 Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview, sponsored by the League of American Orchestras and hosted by the Nashville Symphony.
Posted June 2, 2010
