With the final bow of guest conductor David Handel last week, auditions for the post of music director of the Atlantic Classical Orchestra officially ended.
Handel was the last of four conductors applying for the post that became available when Maestro Stewart Robertson retired last spring. Each candidate, gleaned from 125 applicants, conducted one of ACO’s four programs this season, each given in Vero Beach, Stuart and Palm Beach Gardens.
Monday, a decision by a committee of board members, staff and musicians was to have been reached. But the race was tight, according to marketing director Renae Lloyd. And negotiations on salary and other terms still had to take place before any announcement would be made, she said.
Handel, who as a young man was apprentice conductor under Kurt Masur, is currently principal guest conductor of the Moscow City Symphony, also known as the Russian Philharmonic. A two-time Fulbright Senior Scholar, he spent 14 years successfully developing the National Symphony Orchestra of Bolivia, and currently works with orchestras in Argentina and Guatemala.
Other candidates were Rei Hodoka, associate conductor of the Utah Symphony; David Loebel, associate director of orchestras for the New England Conservatory; and David Amado, music director of the Delaware Symphony.
The chamber orchestra, founded 26 years ago by Vero’s Andrew McMullan, had been guided by McMullan’s successor as conductor, Robertson, since 2004. Robertson was music director of the Glimmerglass Opera as well as Florida Grand Opera.
ACO is the Treasure Coast’s only resident performing arts organization, and last season expanded into the Palm Beach County market with concerts at Palm Beach State College’s Eissey Theatre. Concerts are performed in Stuart at the Lyric Theatre, and in Vero, at St. Edward’s School.