HANSON ON THE MARKET

posted by James Reel

The e-newsletter of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra has landed in my e-mail box, with news that Tucson Symphony Orchestra music director George Hanson is applying for a job there. The Arkansas orchestra's budget is about half a million dollars less than the TSO's, according to the last figures I saw, so Arkansas would probably barely qualify as a lateral move for Hanson; most likely, he's hoping to run both orchestras at the same time (he has held simultaneous appointments in the past). True, Hanson has been in Tucson long enough that it may be time for him to think about moving on, but unless he were desperate to get out he'd be looking to move up in the orchestra world, not over. Here's a condensed version of the news item:

The Search is On! Nearly a year after ASO Music Director David Itkin announced he would be leaving the orchestra, the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s Board of Directors is pleased to name the five conductors selected as finalists in the search for the ASO’s next Music Director. The candidates are: Arthur Post * Currently Music Director of San Juan Symphony in Durango, Colorado (serving the four corners region) Philip Mann * American Conducting Fellow and Assistant Conductor of San Diego Symphony George Hanson * Currently Music Director and Conductor of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra Fusao Kajima * Music Director of the Bellevue Philharmonic in Bellevue, Washington André Raphel Smith * Currently Music Director of the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra in Wheeling, West Virginia