In Thursday’s (7/12) El Paso Times (Texas), Doug Pullen writes, “The El Paso Symphony Orchestra’s search for a new conductor will stretch into a second season, ending in April with the return of Gürer Aykal, one of the most popular conductors in its 82-year history. None of the six candidates who tried out for the music director position in the 2011-2012 season was offered the job, but two contenders have been invited back. Lawrence Loh, of the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra, who conducted the EPSO last November, and Peter Rubardt, of the Pensacola (Fla.) Symphony Orchestra, who led the orchestra in February, have been asked to audition again. … Debbie Hand, chairwoman of the 10-member conductor search committee, said it was ‘a hard fought-out procedure’ to try to come up with one candidate who stood out after a season’s worth of tryouts. … ‘The search committee was looking for off-the-podium elements as well as on-the-podium,’ Hand said. ‘These two rose to the top.’ ” The three new candidates include Arthur Post, Bohuslav Rattay, and Andrés Franco.
Posted July 13, 2012
