Finalists Chosen for the Next Santa Rosa Symphony Music Director

The Santa Rosa Symphony today announced the names of the five music director candidates, who will be introduced to audiences during the 2017-2018 Santa Rosa Symphony Season, as potential successors to Bruno Ferrandis. The news was released, complete with a video showcasing these talented conductors, at a private event at Weill Hall on Thursday, November 3, 2016 at 5:30 pm. The candidates (in alphabetical order) are as follows: Mei-Ann Chen, Michael Christie, Andrew Grams, Graeme Jenkins and Francesco Lecce-Chong. These five finalists represent three different nationalities and embody an extraordinary list of musical accomplishments.

View the Conductor Candidates film.

Candidate Biographies with 2017-2018 conducting dates

Francesco Lecce-Chong, October 7, 8, 9, 2017

American conductor Francesco Lecce-Chong has worked with orchestras around the world, including engagements with the National Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, San Diego Symphony and Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. He currently holds the positions of Assistant Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra.

Previously, he served as Associate Conductor of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and Grand Teton Music Festival. Mr. Lecce-Chong has earned a growing reputation and critical acclaim for dynamic, forceful performances, garnering national distinction, including the Solti Foundation Career Assistance Award and The Presser Foundation Music Award. He has been featured in international masterclasses with Bernard Haitink, David Zinman, David Robertson and Christopher Seaman.
Read full bio here.

Mei-Ann Chen, November 4, 5, 6, 2017

An innovative and passionate force on and off the conductor’s podium, Taiwan-born Mei-Ann Chen is one of America’s most dynamic young conductors. Music Director of the Chicago Sinfonietta since 2011, she is also Artistic Director and Conductor for the 2016 National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra Summer Orchestra Festival. A sought-after guest conductor, Ms. Chen’s reputation as a compelling communicator has resulted in growing popularity with orchestras nationally and internationally. Recent performance highlights include Germany’s Badische Staatskapelle Karlsruhe, Taiwan’s National Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony’s renowned Chinese New Year celebration, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the Detroit, Cincinnati and Indianapolis symphonies. Among her honors and awards are being named one of Musical America’s 2015 Top 30 Influencers and the 2012 Helen M. Thompson Award from the League of American Orchestras. Chen served as Music Director of the Memphis Symphony from 2010-2016.
Read full bio here.

Andrew Grams, December 2, 3, 4, 2017

Maestro Andrew Grams has built a reputation for dynamism, technical finesse, and engaging concert experiences. In leading the Elgin Symphony Orchestra as its music director, he has strengthened the organization/community dynamic, and his tenure was recently extended through 2021-2022. He is an active guest conductor, working with major orchestras in North America, Europe, South America, Australia and Asia.

Grams began violin at age 8 in the Maryland public school system before attending the Baltimore School for the Arts and participating in the National Symphony Orchestra’s Youth Fellowship Program. He won a position in the violin section of the New York City Ballet while enrolled at Julliard. He pursued conducting at the Curtis Institute of Music while maintaining his position at NYCB, and in 2007, completed a three-year tenure as assistant conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra under the supervision of music director Franz Welser-Möst.
Read full bio here.

Graeme Jenkins, January 13, 14, 15, 2018

The English Conductor Graeme Jenkins is renowned for the breadth of his repertoire and experience, particularly in opera. Straight from the Royal College of Music, he was appointed Music Director of the Glyndebourne Touring Opera (1986-1991). He was Music Director of the Dallas Opera 1994-2013. Graeme Jenkins is also a choral and orchestral conductor, noted for his interpretations of Mozart and Richard Strauss, as well as all the major choral works.

Other orchestral work has been with most of the major UK orchestras including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. In the United States, he has worked with the Symphony Orchestras of Dallas, Houston, St. Louis, Minnesota, Utah and San Antonio.
Read full bio here.

Michael Christie, February 10, 11, 12, 2018

Michael Christie is a thoughtfully innovative conductor, equally at home in the symphonic and opera worlds, who is focused on making the audience experience at his performances entertaining and enlightening. Christie’s conducting career has included serving as Music Director of the Phoenix Symphony and Brooklyn Philharmonic, and as Chief Conductor of the Queensland Orchestra in Australia, as well as guest appearances leading top orchestras around the world. Christie also served as Music Director of the Colorado Music Festival from 2000-2013.

Christie was appointed Music Director of the Minnesota Opera in the 2012-13 season. He recently led the premiere of Paul Moravec’s opera The Shining, and in 2017, will lead the premiere of The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs by Mason Bates with Santa Fe Opera. Christie led the Minnesota Opera in the 2011 premiere of Kevin Puts’ Pulitzer-Prize winning Silent Night.
Read full bio here.

SRS Music Director Search and Selection Process

These distinguished candidates will take the podium as guest conductors during the 2017-2018 season. All five candidates will spend approximately eight days in Santa Rosa conducting all rehearsals and performances. In addition, each candidate will participate in a full schedule of meetings with community leaders, media, board of director members, staff and musicians. The new music director’s tenure will begin with the 2018-2019 season.

Santa Rosa Symphony Board President Sara Woodfield said, “The Santa Rosa Symphony was delighted to have a long list of talented conductors step forward. Distilling the list to these five excellent choices was challenging, yet rewarding for the search committee. I believe our audience and community will be excited about our choices and the bright future this represents for our Symphony and our community.”

The Music Director Search Committee spent months pouring over resumes, viewing videos, checking references, conducting phone interviews and even flying across the country to see some of the candidates in action. After the first five concert sets of the 2017-2018 season, the community will have experienced all the potential music directors, and the selection will be made by March 2018.

Music Director Search Committee Chair Jim Hinton, said, “This music director search has been an amazing, world-wide endeavor, with 60 well-qualified applicants, whom we researched and vetted extensively.”

The Music Director Search Committee comprises five board members, four orchestra members and the executive director as follows:

Board Members

Jim Hinton (Chair), Jamei Haswell, VP, Sara Kozel, John Reed, Susan Dzieza

Orchestra Members

Kale Cumings, Laura Reynolds, Alex Camphouse, Adelle-Akiko Kearns,

Alan Silow, Executive Director

Santa Rosa Symphony Executive Director Alan Silow says, “Maestro Ferrandis has contributed greatly to raising the artistic excellence of this orchestra, which will serve us admirably as we welcome five of the most prominent conductors in the world today as candidates.”

Bruno Ferrandis, who will conduct the final two celebratory concert sets of the 2017-2018 season, his last as Santa Rosa Symphony Music Director, said of the candidates, “The Santa Rosa Symphony will have to choose very carefully from these extremely qualified and talented candidates. I have no doubt that the Symphony will be in good hands, whichever candidate is chosen.”