Six finalists have been announced as potential candidates to succeed Grant Cooper, the retiring conductor of the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra.
Their names, as well as details on the orchestra's upcoming season, were revealed Friday afternoon at the Clay Center.
Candidates for the position include Kayoko Dan, music director of the Chattanooga Symphony; Keitaro Harada, associate conductor for the Cincinnati Symphony; Stilan Kirov, assistant conductor with the Seattle Symphony; Dan Meyer, music director for the Erie Symphony; Lawrence Koh, resident conductor for the Pittsburgh Symphony; and Kevin Rhodes, music director for Springfield Symphony Orchestra.
The search for a new conductor comes on the heels of several changes last season, which included a reduction in the number of performances at the Clay Center, as well as changes to the symphony's educational outreach.
"It's been a time for transition," WVSO President Joe Tackett said before announcing the finalists.
Search committee chairwoman Cindy McGhee said 167 applicants submitted applications and audition clips, which were reviewed by members of the WVSO board of directors and several symphony musicians.
"We did the administration part," McGhee said. "Now comes the action part."
Over the next season, each of the candidates will come to West Virginia, meet the community, and lead the symphony as part of the Capitol Conference Symphonic Series.
Dates for the Capitol Conference Symphonic Series are:
n Sept. 17 with Kayoko Dan. The performance will include Brahms Symphony No. 4 and Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2 with guest violinist Rachel Barton Pine.
n Oct. 22 with Keitaro Harada. The symphony will perform Dvorak's Symphony No. 8 and Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 with guest pianist Antonio Pompa-Baldi.
n Nov. 12 with Stilan Kirov. The program features Stravinsky's "Firebird Suite" and Brahms Violin Concerto with guest Martin Chalifour.
n March 4 with Dan Meyer. The WVSO will perform Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 and Tchaikovsky's "Rococo Variations" with cellist Julia Albers.
n April 8 with Lawrence Loh. The performance includes Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4 and Sierra's "Folias Concerto" with guitarist Jason Vieaux.
n May 6 with Kevin Rhodes. The program features Liszt's "Faust Symphony" and Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 with guest pianist Viktor Valkov of Astral Artists.
The repertoire for the series, Tackett explained, was chosen through a collaborative effort between Maestro Cooper and the individual applicants.
The symphony also announced the ZMM Pops series and a couple of special events, which will be conducted by Maestro Cooper.
This year's Pops series will kick off Oct. 8. The orchestra will accompany MGM classic "The Wizard of Oz."
Due to anticipated interest, Tackett said the symphony has scheduled both an evening and a matinee performance.
They also planned to encourage concertgoers to come out in costume.
"I expect to see a lot of Dorothys," Tackett joked.
Dec. 3, the symphony will perform its annual Christmas-themed show, "Home for the Holidays."
March 18, the WVSO hopes to ignite some Beatlemania with "Sgt. Pepper," which is described as a journey through the '60s with a catalog of Beatles hits.
Finally, May 13, the symphony's show will be "Country Roads," a tribute to country hits like "Crazy," "Friends in Low Places" and several John Denver hits.
In addition to the regular series, the WVSO will again partner with the Charleston Ballet for "The Nutcracker" on Dec. 9 and 10, and will bring the music of the console arcade with "Video Games Live."
Lastly, Tackett said, WVSO performances now will take place at 7:30 p.m., a change requested by both older and younger fans of the symphony.
Subscriptions for the new season already are on sale and Tackett urged symphony fans to get tickets now.
"Our Pops series sold [out] three out of four shows," he said. "You want to get a subscription now and save yourself from sitting in the nosebleed seats."
With the symphony trying out potential new conductors, the Capitol Conference Symphonic Series also might see some extra interest.
Grand Series subscriptions are from $195 to $495. Capitol Conference Center Symphonic Series subscriptions are $112 to $327 and ZMM Pops Series subscriptions range from $196 to $240. Price ranges are based on seating.
For more information about season tickets, call 304-957-9880.
Single tickets go on sale in August and can be purchased online at wvsymphony.org.
New single ticket prices are $10 to $65, including the WVSO "Tweet seats" section, where the audience is encouraged to interact with the WVSO via social media.
Tickets for The Nutcracker start at $12 for children and $24 for adults.
Reach Bill Lynch at lynch@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5195, follow @LostHwys on Twitter or visit Bill's blog: blogs.wvgazettemail.com/onemonth.