League Announces National Conductor Preview Lineup

Six highly-skilled and dynamic conductors have been selected to participate in the League of American Orchestras Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview, April 3-4, 2018 at Nashville's Schermerhorn Symphony Center. The League's two-day showcase is one of the field's most prestigious pathways for orchestra search committees to encounter new talent as they meet the conductors, observe them in rehearsal settings, and experience their high-caliber artistry in person.

Ankush Kumar Bahl, Mélisse Brunet, Nadège Foofat, Raúl Gómez-Rojas, Lee Mills, and Lidiya Yankovskaya will display their versatility by leading the GRAMMY Award-winning Nashville Symphony in an eclectic program of selections of works by Beethoven, Bernstein, Debussy, Tchaikovsky, and Kip Winger.

"For more than 20 years, the League's Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview has been one of the orchestra field's primary methods for identifying conducting talent, offering a unique opportunity for search committees to experience the breadth of artistry only a showcase setting can provide," commented Jesse Rosen, League of American Orchestras President and CEO. "We've presented the event in Nashville three times in the past nine years along-a testament to the excellence of the Nashville Symphony and its Music Director, Giancarlo, a 2001 Preview alum. The renowned Schermerhorn Symphony Center is a wonderful venue for audiences to experience this diverse array of highly impressive conductors."

The Conductors:

Ankush Kumar - (recently) Assistant Conductor, National Symphony Orchestra (Washington, DC); four Career Assistance Awards from Solti Foundation U.S.

Mélisse Brunet - (recently) Assistant Conductor, Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic; Director of Orchestral Activities, Appalachian State University; Participant, Linda and Mitch Hart Institute for Women Conductors at The Dallas Opera

Nadège Foofat - Musical Assistant to the General Music Director, Kent Nagano, Hamburg Staatsoper and Philharmonischen Staatsorchesters Hamburg

Raúl Gómez Rojas - Music Director, Metropolitan Youth Symphony (Portland, OR)

Lee Mills - Resident Conductor, Brazilian Symphony Orchestra (Rio de Janeiro); two Career Assistance Awards from Solti Foundation U.S.

Lidiya Yankovskaya - Music Director, Chicago Opera Theater; Resident Artist, National Sawdust (Brooklyn, NY); Artistic Director/Conductor, Refugee Orchestra Project; Honorable Mention, Taki Concordia Conducting Fellowship; Participant, Linda and Mitch Hart Institute for Women Conductors at The Dallas Opera

The conductors were chosen by an independent panel of leading music professionals from a pool of nearly 150 applications from around the world, and were selected for their experience, talent, leadership potential, and commitment to a career in service to American orchestras.

The Event: On April 3 and 4, the six participating conductors will lead the Nashville Symphony in rehearsals, with music director search committee members, artist managers, orchestra executives, artistic administrators, and trustees from League member organizations across the country in attendance. Each conductor will rehearse a 15-minute program of contrasting musical selections to be performed in a free public concert at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center on April 4 at 7 p.m. The event will be streamed live, and made available on-demand for 45 days after posting in order to enable more people in the music industry as well as the general public to experience these exciting conductors in action. The League will also facilitate networking between the conductors and industry professionals, as well as feedback and mentorship by Nashville Symphony musicians and Maestro Guerrero.

History of the Preview: The Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview has helped catalyze opportunities for conductors' careers for over 20 years. Since 1995, the Preview has showcased 85 conductors, with more than 50 orchestras engaging participants in conductor/music director appointments as a direct result. Showcase alumni include Mei-Ann Chen, music director of the Chicago Sinfonietta; Alondra de la Parra, music director of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra; Giancarlo Guerrero, music director of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra; Laura Jackson, music director of the Reno Philharmonic; Carolyn Kuan, music director of Hartford Symphony Orchestra; and Carlos Miguel Prieto, music director of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and the YOA Orchestra of the Americas. The Preview last took place in 2016 in Nashville, TN, and, in 2013, in Jacksonville, FL.