CHARLESTON, W.Va. — This Saturday the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra will host its final conductor candidate at Charleston’s Clay Center.
Maestro Kevin Rhodes, a music director and conductor of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra in Massachusetts, is one of six finalists vying to replace retiring Maestro Grant Cooper, who has led the Symphony since 2001.
Rhodes will perform at 7:30 p.m.
The conductor search process began a year ago with over 160 applicants from around the world. The six finalists were selected last fall. Each candidate had trips to Charleston to get to know the community and to perform at the Clay Center.
“They are an incredibly talented group of conductors and artists. We’ve in an enviable position because we really can’t go wrong with any one of them,” said P.J. Dickersheid, development associate for the WVSO.
The final decision is made through feedback from Symphony members and the Charleston community, Dickersheid said.
“It’s a combination of input from the Orchestra members themselves, the Board of Directors, the public — it’s a very interactive process,” she said.
The new conductor could be announced as early as late May.
The six candidates are as follows:
The candidates and concert dates at the Clay Center are as follows:
- Kayko Dan, music director of the Chattanooga Symphony
- Keitaro Harada, associate conductor of the Cinnicinati Symphony
- Stilian Kirov, assistant conductor of the Seattle Symphony
- Dan Meyer, music director of the Erie Philharmonic
- Lawrence Loh, resident conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony
- Kevin Rhodes, music director of the Springfiled Symphony Orchestra