
William McClain is a candidate to become music director of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra in Indiana.
In Wednesday’s (5/29) Republic (Columbus, Indiana), Brian Blair writes, “William McClain stands before Millikin University classes as much or more than he stands before orchestras. So he is a teacher as much or more than he is a conductor. Understandably, he sees that as a perfect background and practice to lead the mostly volunteer Columbus Symphony Orchestra, comprised of people from a range of occupations pursuing music as an avocation … McClain will be the ensemble’s final music conductor candidate to be featured this season in a concert Sunday at The Commons … The music director and conductor of the Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra and the Millikin Chamber Orchestra … has appeared in major venues across the United States and abroad, including Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, and the Sheremetev Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia. He currently performs on viola with the Augusta Symphony Orchestra and the Savannah Philharmonic Orchestra in Georgia. He is a former member of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra and the Tri-Cities Opera Orchestra…. The native of Washington, D.C., mentioned that he has been impressed with the local symphony, labeling the players “very responsive.’ ”