Kwamé Ryan (on podium) led the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra in January. He is among the guest conductors who have appeared recently with the orchestra as it seeks a music director. Photo by Mical Hutson.
In Thursday’s (9/7) Charlotte Observer (NC), Lawrence Toppman writes that the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra “has mostly kept mum about the process to replace Christopher Warren-Green, now the symphony’s conductor laureate and artistic advisor…. I now hear the announcement will be made in early 2024, and the winner may conduct one concert in the spring before a fuller slate in 2024-25. Will the Charlotte Symphony break with tradition? I saw a remarkable mix of talented [guest conductors] over the last two seasons: male and female, young and middle-age, people descended from Europeans and Africans and Asians…. I’d like to see the CSO break its 91-year tradition of hiring men who look like me. I’d hope the change might invigorate interest among applicants for new positions, bring an influx of new repertoire, maybe link the orchestra to parts of the community that haven’t always been interested in it.” Toppman’s “wish list” for the orchestra’s new music director includes living in Charlotte; collaborating with local artists; casual clothes on the podium; and “real connections with people—not just donors, but ordinary folks.”
