“After an 18-month long international search, the Wichita Falls Symphony Orchestra has named Fouad Fakhouri as its next music director and conductor, effective June 1,” states an unsigned report in Tuesday’s (3/28) Times Record News (Wichita Falls, Texas). “He takes over the position from Candler Schaffer, who retired in 2016…. ‘For me, this is similar to a homecoming,’ Fakhouri said…. ‘It is wonderful to get back and contribute to the state that I practically grew up in.’ He was educated at West Texas A&M University and the University of North Texas…. In June 2016, Fakhouri was named music director of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra in Michigan.” Previous appointments include principal guest conductor of the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra and music director of the Greensboro Symphony Youth Orchestra. “Fakhouri is a composer. His works have been premiered and performed by the English Chamber Orchestra … and the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra, to name a few…. In March 2016, he was inducted into the Fayetteville Music Hall of Fame, and in April 2016, upon the completion of an 11-season tenure with the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra, donors honored him by establishing … a $1.1 million fund that will continue his musical legacy.”
Posted March 30, 2017
