In Friday’s (12/20) News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington) Rosemary Ponnekanti writes that the Tacoma Symphony Orchestra has appointed Sarah Ioannides to succeed Harvey Felder, “who will leave the orchestra next June after 20 years as director. Ioannides, a British conductor currently based in South Carolina”—where she is music director of the Spartanburg Philharmonic—“was the first of four candidates who auditioned this year for the position…. Her five-year contract … will begin in July, but she already is collaborating with Felder on the 2014-15 season…. ‘Sarah had a wonderful chemistry with the orchestra,’ said Greg Youtz, a music professor at Pacific Lutheran University and a member of the selection committee.… Another factor that earned Ioannides the position is her desire to bring the orchestra into the community…. ‘She was asking about alternative venues . . . like the (Museum of Glass) hot shop or the Armory, and she’s worked a lot with composers so we’ll see some new music,’ [said Youtz]. The board also hopes Ioannides will bring to Tacoma the passion for working with kids that has seen her launch efforts such as symphony art competitions and work with school orchestras…. Ioannides is the symphony’s first female director … [and] follows in the footsteps of Felder, Tacoma’s first African-American symphony conductor.”
Posted December 23, 2013
