Music Director of the YSO from 2004-2019
My twelve years with the YSO were full of wonderful moments, both in the concert setting playing great works like Mahler and Brahms and in the fantastic, talented students I got to know through their student careers. It is a feeling of pride to know that so many YSOers went on to become professional performers and conductors.
Most dear to me was the 2010 tour to Turkey, which formed so many new relations that we had never expected. It was the first orchestra year that knew me as their conductor through all four years, and it felt like a special bond. The tour grew from a single concert opportunity to a three city tour of the country with Idil Biret, the famed Turkish pianist, as our guest soloist. We were treated so warmly by the Turkish community, enjoyed enthusiastic full audiences, and a beautiful country. Because of that tour, Idil came to New Haven and recorded the Hindemith concertos with the YSO, which became a release on the Naxos label; a true honor.