“The Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra has appointed a new musical leader to help carry out a new vision for the 40-year-old ensemble. Conductor Kelly Kuo has been named interim music director of the Chamber Orchestra, effective immediately,” writes Janelle Gelfand in Sunday’s (11/2) Cincinnati Enquirer. “Kuo … has signed a one-year contract. He will see the orchestra through its newly-planned festival season in August, while the ensemble launches a search for a permanent music director. Former music director Mischa Santora finished his 14-year tenure in June. ‘I see my job as interim as providing a stable transition for the organization, from a full-year season to a summer season,’ said Kuo, who served as assistant conductor of the orchestra for two years (2007-09). … Besides his previous work with the Chamber Orchestra … Kuo is familiar to local opera audiences for leading Cincinnati Opera’s Galileo Galilei [by Philip Glass]. He is in his third season as artistic director of the Oregon Mozart Players in Eugene, Ore., as well as music director of the Butler Opera Center at the University of Texas, Austin. … [Acting general manager LeAnne] Anklan said that Kuo was the choice to guide the orchestra because of his success in Oregon. ‘He’s been successful in turning it around—audiences, revenues and artistically,’ she said.”
Posted November 3, 2014
