“After a yearlong effort, the Master Chorale of Tampa Bay and the Florida Orchestra have abandoned their search for a conductor capable of leading both groups,” writes Andrew Meacham in Wednesday’s (6/28) Tampa Bay Times. “Instead, the chorale recently named Doreen Rao visiting artistic director for 2017-2018. … The chorale intends to announce the next artistic director by the end of the year.… The chorale and orchestra have had a long working relationship. So for a year, the orchestra and the chorale searched for someone who could both lead the singers to fill in occasionally for [Florida Orchestra] music director Michael Francis or handle the occasional outdoor concert. ‘It was really an experiment to see what we could do, because choral conducting and orchestral conducting are really two different disciplines,’ said the orchestra’s general manager, Edward Parsons. ‘And to find someone who was excellent at both we knew was going to be a stretch.’ The joint position drew 80 applicants from all over the world. Five finalists came to the Tampa Bay area to audition. … ‘It was worth trying and we’re glad that we tried,’ Parsons said. ‘But in the end, there’s a reason why this position doesn’t exist out there.’ ”
Posted June 30, 2017
