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The Las Cruces Symphony Orchestra (LCSO) will reveal the name of its new director/conductor during a fundraising gala that begins at 6 p.m. Friday, June 10, at New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum, 4100 Dripping Springs Road.
The four candidates for the position are Devon Patrick Hughes, Richard Lee, Ming Luke and Gene Chang.
“The symphony has conducted a search for a new music director/conductor this past season with a different conductor auditioning for the position at each of our four classic concerts,” said LCPS Board President Barb Ross. “They hail from California, Colorado and Texas.”
“We were fortunate to have attracted extremely talented conductor candidates for our open conductor position with the retirement of our long-time conductor Lonnie Klein,” Ross said. “The quality of music making by our dedicated musicians combined with the new music director/conductor is something that we are looking forward to for the 2022-23 season with great anticipation."
Gala tickets are $55 and are available at www.lascrucessymphony.com (click on “Buy Tickets Now” at the very top of the page) and by calling 877-466-3404.
The gala will include a silent auction featuring jewelry, gift baskets, pottery, gift certificates for services and events, a wine dinner for eight and many more items, Ross said. The event will also include dining, dancing, a DJ and a cash bar.
Hughes is music director and conductor of the Boulder Symphony and Arapahoe Philharmonic. He previously held artistic leadership positions with the Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra, Santa Fe Youth Symphony Association, Denver Young Artists Orchestra and Denver Philharmonic Orchestra. Visit
https://devinpatrickhughes.com/.
Lee is music director of the East Texas Symphony Orchestra and previously served as music director of the Korean Canadian Symphony Orchestra as well as resident or assistant conductor with the symphony orchestras of Winnipeg, Quebec and Thunder Bay, all in Canada. Visit https://etso.org/about-etso/music-direction.
Luke has soloed as a pianist with the Pittsburgh Symphony, Sacramento Philharmonic and San Francisco Ballet and currently serves as music director for the Merced Symphony and Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra, principal conductor of the Nashville Ballet, associate conductor for the Berkeley Symphony and principal guest conductor for the San Francisco Ballet.
Chang served as assistant and associate conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra 2015-19. He is a graduate of The Juilliard School. Chang also has a law degree from the University of Chicago. Visit www.genechangconductor.com.
"Upon my retirement to Las Cruces 17 years ago, I was delighted to learn that we had a symphony orchestra,” said Ross, who has been an LCSO board member for 14 years. “LCSO is the only professional orchestra in southwest New Mexico and offers a quality of music not often found in a community the size of Las Cruces. Our community is fortunate to have a world-class orchestra made up of talented musicians. That is why I am dedicated to serving on the board and working to fundraise to preserve this gem for the community.”
Visit https://lascrucessymphony.com/meet-your-conductor-candidates/.
