Fort Wayne Philharmonic Orchestra - Music Director Finalists

Music Director Finalists

The Fort Wayne Philharmonic announced on January 15, 2008, that it had selected eight finalists who would be considered for the new music director. The eight conductors were invited to conduct concerts in Fort Wayne during the 2008–09 season. Philharmonic management and the board of directors invited audience response (via questionnaires) as the conductors appeared during the 2008–09 season, then selected the new director, who will likely take over in the 2009–10 season. The new director, Andrew Constantine, was announced at the conclusion of the annual membership meeting on June 23, 2009.

The finalists selected were:

• Hélène Bouchez (born in Lyon, France in 1972), who has conducted across Europe and Asia.
• David In-Jae Cho (born in Seoul, Korea in 1974), associate conductor with the Utah Symphony Orchestra and Utah Opera.
• Andrew Constantine (born in England in 1961), music director of the Reading Symphony Orchestra in Pennsylvania and associate conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. He was subsequently selected by the board of directors, by unanimous decision, to be the Philharmonic's next music director.
• Andrew Grams (born in Maryland in 1976), resident conductor of the Florida Symphony Orchestra.
• Daniel Meyer (born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1971), music director at the Erie Symphony Orchestra in Pennsylvania and the Asheville Symphony Orchestra in North Carolina, and resident conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
• Tito Muñoz (born in New York City in 1983), assistant conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra.
• Danail Rachev (born in Shumen, Bulgaria in 1970), assistant conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra. In November, Rachev was selected as the next music director of the Eugene Symphony Orchestra in Oregon. Rachev's March 14 appearance with the Philharmonic was cancelled; Bradley Thachuk, the Philharmonic's associate conductor, conducted the same music scheduled. The Fort Wayne News Sentinel announced that Rachev dropped out of the competition for the next music director.
• Gregory Vajda (born in Budapest, Hungary in 1973), resident conductor of the Oregon Symphony Orchestra.

The Philharmonic announced that each of the candidates would visit Fort Wayne for two concerts during the 2008–09 season. Each conductor would lead one concert with the full orchestra and one with the chamber orchestra. A final decision was made at the end of the 2008–09 season. In addition, famed conductor and violinist Jaime Laredo guest conducted the full orchestra and the chamber orchestra. The Philharmonic's current associate conductor, Bradley Thachuk, also conducted during the 2008–09 season.