Asked why he was interested in becoming the music director of the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra, Scott Terrell joked, “I haven’t heard that question this week.”

But this was the most public forum in which he had been asked it: his pre-concert chat before conducting the Philharmonic in its second Masterclassics concert of the 2008-09 season. Terrell is the sixth of 10 candidates to succeed George Zack as music director of the Phil.

Scott Terrell receives a standing ovation after conducting the Lexington Philharmonic on Oct. 24, 2008. Photos by Rich Copley.

Answering the question from the chat audience, Terrell proceeded to tell people crowded into the President’s Room at the Singletary Center for the Arts about driving from Charleston, S.C., where he is resident conductor of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, to his parents’ home in Michigan: Lexington is the half-way point, “and I’ve always been struck by the beauty of this area.”

He also talked about the presence of the University of Kentucky and other colleges as being a big plus, adding he had already heard of the UK Opera. He saw the UK Opera Theatre’s production of La Boheme last Saturday.

“I don’t apply for every job that opens up,” Terrell said. “Ultimately, you have to ask yourself if you could see yourself in a place you’re applying for a job, and I could definitely see myself here.”

After the talk, it was the audience’s chance to decide whether they could see Terrell on the Singletary Stage in future seasons.

His concert included works by Ottorino Respighi, Franz Joseph Haydn and Edward Elgar’s Serenade for Strings, which he appreciated for the beauty of its Larghetto movement. The Haydn in question was the Cello Concerto in C Major with soloist Hai-Ye Ni. Terrell said he knew of Ni and was excited to work with her.

Cellist Hai-Yi Ni following her performance of Haydn's Cello Concerto in C with the Lexington Philharmonic.

BTW, Copious Notes will acknowledge maybe the rain dampened everyone’s energy. But couldn’t we have called Ni back for an encore?

Anyway, check Loren Tice’s spot on review of the concert (complete with baseball allusion!), which ended with Zoltan Kodaly’s orchestral minefield, Dances of Galanta.

Prior to the concert, Terrell was also asked:

• If he liked conducting choral music: He said studying organ in school, he often conducted the chorus from the keyboard and added, “I look at choral works as a major staple of the repertory.” He mentioned  George Frideric Handel’s Messiah in particular saying, “I have a definite way I like to do Messiah: Quickly. It keeps the chorus on their toes.”
• How he approached conducting: “Music making is an individualized approach . . . My responsibility is always to the score and the composer’s intention.” That said, he added that music is open to interpretation because, “The composer is not there to tell me yes or no.”
• If, being the sixth out of 10 candidates to audition, he was worried he might get lost in the mix: “The thoroughness with which they are doing this is encouraging. Sometimes, orchestras aren’t so thorough, and they end up unhappy with their choice. This is a real community decision, not to be taken lightly.”
• Finally, pre-show chat moderator and Philharmonic bassist Joe Tackett asked his usual question about the possibility of more bass concertos: “We’re going to have a bass conference and cover all the bass concertos in rougly 20 minutes.”

Terrell will also conduct Sunday’s Halloween Spooktacular Family concert, the first time a conductor candidate has conducted two concerts for the Philharmonic. He noted that when he guest conducted in Charleston, and ultimately got the resident conductor job, he also conducted a Halloween concert. Omen?