SALISBURY — As the Salisbury Symphony Orchestra begins its 2023-24 season, it will feature a unique component as it seeks its next musical director.

The season will feature five new conductors who are also candidates for the musical director position. 

The first of those candidates, Peter Askim, conducted a performance at Keppel Auditorium on Catawba College’s campus on Saturday, Sept. 9.

Salisbury Symphony Executive Director Hunter Safrit explained that the process involved more than what Askim would do on stage that night. There was a meet and greet with Askim that allowed him to interact with community members and stakeholders.

Askim also spent his time in Salisbury rehearsing with the symphony members. Balancing the interests of the community and the symphony is one task ahead for those responsible for selecting the next musical director. Much of that data will be taken from surveys conducted throughout the week. 

“Every aspect of the week involves surveys,” Safrit said. “We are following the League of American Orchestras, a national organization that helps sustain and build American orchestras. They have a wonderful handbook. Specifically designed to help develop a search for a music director. In that is a plethora of information from appendixes to surveys.”

Initially, the applicant pool was approximately 65, but it was reduced to 30 candidates for the search committee to narrow down.

“The search committee is made up of three musicians from the orchestra, three board members from the board of directors and three community members from the community at large, taking all of the data collected through these surveys and the staff interactions to help them come about a decision,” Safrit said. 

With five qualified candidates, Safrit admits the search won’t be easy. 

“The goal is to be able to take the consensus of the group,” Safrit said. “I am sure the search committee would be very happy if it were obvious from the data which conductor candidate to choose.”

Safrit is proud of the musical culture that the Salisbury Symphony has created in a place like Rowan County. 

“It’s not every day that a symphony exists in a community this size, specifically a county with 145,000 people,” Safrit said. “We are incredibly unique in that aspect, and then when you benchmark us against other orchestras in the state, in the region and the country, our accessibility is on a level unlike others.”

Currently, the most expensive ticket to come to a concert is $15. A guest can sit in the balcony for a dollar.

“One exciting thing about the search is that each of these candidates have been made aware of what we already do, and I think that a good and fun challenge for them will be how do they build on our legacy and expand what we do, not just for Rowan County but for other counties that do not have a symphonic presence,” Safrit said. 

Ultimately, the symphony has one goal above all else.

“The most important thing we do here is music,” Safrit said. “Everything else is just part of that.”

The candidates

Askim was the candidate who conducted the show on Saturday. As a composer, conductor and bassist, Askin is the founder and artistic director for the Next Festival of Emerging Artists, Director of Orchestral Studies at North Carolina State University and conductor of the Raleigh Civic Symphony and Chamber Orchestra. As a conductor, he has led the American Composers Orchestra, Knoxville Symphony and Vermont Symphony, among others. He is known for innovative programming, championing the work of living composers and his advocacy of underrepresented voices in the concert hall. 

His performance was entitled “A River Runs Through It: The Other Side of Hungry River.”

The next candidate is Kelly Corcoran. She will lead a performance on Jan. 20, 2024. 

Named “Best Classical Conductor” by the Nashville Scene, Corcoran is currently the artistic director and conductor of Intersection, a contemporary music ensemble now in its 9th season in Nashville. Corcoran founded the Nashville Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted the Nashville Symphony in hundreds of performances for nine seasons as associate conductor and director of the symphony chorus. She has guest conducted many major orchestras, including the Cleveland Orchestras, the Atlanta, Detroit, Houston and National Symphonies and orchestras in Argentina, England, Germany, Czech Republic, Spain, Mexico and Chile.

Her show will be entitled “Stars & Space.”

Michelle DiRusso will follow Corcoran when she leads the March 9, 2024, show. 

DiRusso is described as a graceful yet powerful force on the podium. DiRusso is reportedly known for her compelling interpretation, passionate musicality and championing of contemporary music. She is an associated conductor in her second season with the North Carolina Symphony. She is a former conducting fellow of Chicago Sinfonietta’s Project Inclusion program, The Dallas Opera Hart Institute, and a recipient of the Richard S. Weinert Award from the Concert Artists Guild. Her show will be entitled “Enchanting Sounds.”

Kalena Bovell’s show will be held on April 27. Her twin tenets of musical excellence and community access have left an imprint on orchestras across North America, including recognition as a 2022-2024 Awardee of the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship. Bovell, in high demand as a guest conductor, continues implementing these values as Assistant Conductor to the Memphis Symphony Orchestra and Conductor of the Memphis Youth Symphony. Bovell has led numerous marquee performances, including the BBC Proms with the Chineke! Orchestra, the Louisville Orchestra and at the Kennedy Center’s “Reframing the Narrative” with the Collage Dance Collective in Kevin Thomas’ Firebird. 

Her show is entitled “Musical Inspirations.”

The final candidate is Daniel Wiley. 

Wiley is quickly becoming a notable young conductor on the rise, having made guest appearances with the Denali Chamber Orchestra, Meridian Symphony, Equilibrium Ensemble, Boise Philharmonic, Abilene Philharmonic, London Symphonia, Windsor Symphony Orchestra, Windsor Abridged Opera, University of Windsor Wind Ensemble, University of North Florida’s Opera Department and the Cincinnati Ballet. 

In the fall of 2022, Wiley joined the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Pops as an assistant conductor, where he is responsible for conducting and covering various concerts and working with the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestras. 

His performance is called “Hope and Lifting” and will be on May 18, 2024.