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April 17, 2007
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A new baton in town For conductor Jonathan McPhee, the road to leading the Nashua Symphony Orchestra began when he was six years old. At the time, a college orchestra came to his school as part of a holiday concert. Watching the conductor lead the group, McPhee recalls thinking it was “the coolest thing in the world.” From that moment, he knew what he wanted to do with his life. And so he did, attending London’s Royal Academy of Music and the Julliard School in New York, and then making his living by being a music director. For nearly two decades, McPhee has served as music director for organizations ranging from the Boston Ballet to the Lexington (Mass.) Symphony. A frequent guest conductor, in the past year he’s accepted engagements everywhere from Lithuania to Australia. And next season, he’ll lead the Nashua Symphony. Last week, the orchestra’s board of trustees announced McPhee’s appointment as the Gate City group’s new music director, the result of a two-year search that attracted more than 130 candidates. The process produced four finalists, each of whom led the orchestra in an “audition” concert this season. McPhee’s concert last month was the final one in the series, allowing the board of directors to make a decision. McPhee, who calls Sudbury, Mass. home, succeeds long-time music director Royston Nash, who stepped down in 2007 after more than two decades leading the orchestra. Officials say the appointment will help the symphony move in new directions. “We’re elated,” said Eric Valliere, the group’s executive director. “It’s been exciting to have all these guest conductors, but ‘When the new music director gets here...” is how every conversation started.” Though his two-year contract doesn’t start until July 1, McPhee is already busy working with Valliere planning concert programs for the 2008-09 season, which opens in September. The hope is to announce a schedule no later than Memorial Day, Valliere said. McPhee will lead an orchestra eager to try new things. This weekend, for example, the group will perform its second annual “Ripple Effect” program, in which local high school poets collaborate with composers to produce new music. The concert, led by choral conductor Diane Cushing, also features music by Bernstein, Copland and others. It’s Saturday, April 19 at 8 p.m. in the auditorium of Nashua High School North; tickets are $10 to $20. For more info, call 595-9156 or visit nashuasymphony.org Though the Nashua Symphony, like many regional orchestras, is composed of freelance musicians, McPhee has no immediate plans for changes in the ranks. “Everyone should first have a chance to get on board with what’s being done,” said McPhee, who concentrated on the oboe and English horn in his own studies. “Part of the reason I took (the job) was the enormous potential of the people who are there.” Though the job is a big one, McPhee isn’t letting it inhibit his sense of humor. His profession is unusual enough, he says, that in earlier years at parties when he said he was a conductor, people mistakenly thought he worked for Amtrak. “After a while, I started simplifying it and saying I’m a musician,” he said. Jeff Rapsis is a working musician and a member of the board of directors of the Manchester Community Music School, and contributes program notes to the Palace Festival Orchestra and other groups.
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