After an extensive search and review of more than 50 conductor applicants, an FMMC search committee has selected four finalists for auditions. Orchestra and audience members will have an opportunity to appraise the finalists when each of them prepares and conducts a concert during our upcoming 2023-2024 season.
Shun Yao will conduct the September 30 concert. He is currently working on his DMA in Orchestral Conducting at the University of Maryland, where he serves as Music Director of the University Orchestra. He also serves as Assistant Conductor at the Annapolis Symphony Academy Youth Orchestra program. He received his MM in Orchestral Conducting at the Cleveland Institute of Music, his MM in Collaborative Piano at Rice University, and his BM in Piano Performance at the Manhattan School of Music.
Dietrich Paredes Baralt will conduct the November 18 concert. From Venezuela, he served as Music Director of the Youth Orchestra of Caracas, one of the flagship orchestras of El Sistema. He served as Conducting Fellow with the LA Philharmonic, and he has conducted many other orchestras. He received his BM in violin performance at the Instituto Universitario de Estudios Musicales, and also studied at the Latin American Violin Academy and the Conservatory of Music Simon Bolivar. He has also served as a guest conductor for Avanti.
Jamie Reeves will conduct the March 9 concert. He is the Music Director of the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra in Alabama and previously served as the Director of Orchestral Studies at University of Alabama. He has held many Guest Conducting and Cover Conducting positions. He received his DMA in Conducting at Peabody, and his MMA in Conducting at Indiana University.
Chi-Yuan Lin will conduct the May 4 concert. She is currently working on her DMA in Conducting at Peabody. She received her MM in Conducting at National Taiwan Normal University, where she also received her BFA in Piano Performance. She has served as Music Director and Assistant Conductor of several Orchestras in Taiwan and the United States.
The public is invited to attend these concerts and join the appraisals. Admission will be free, as it is for all FMMC concerts. All performances will take place at 7:30 pm at the Cultural Arts Center in Silver Spring, Maryland. For further information, see www.fmmc.org.
The FMMC is extremely grateful to Pablo Saelzer for his 18 years of inspiring leadership and artistic achievement as Avanti conductor.
