Copious Notes

Scott Terrell leads a rehearsal of the Lexington Philharmoinic Orchestra before the October 2008 audition concert that ultimately won him the job. Photo by Rich Copley | LexGo.

After Scott Terrell was named the new music director of the Lexington Philharmonic, most people, even the orchestra staff, figured the next time we’d see him would be in September for a gala season opener.

But Terrell had different ideas.

The conductor will be on the podium next weekend as the Philharmonic plays its annual Fourth of July concerts in Lexington Friday Night at Transylvania University and Versailles Saturday night at Woodford County Park.

“I was here, I was available, and it’s a big community event,” Terrell said from his Lexington home. “I thought it was an appropriate way to introduce myself.”

It’s also going to be a chance for Terrell to introduce a bit of his musical sensibility.

“There are going to be the traditional things that have always been there,” Terrell says. “But we’re also going to look at the breadth of American music, and what that means.”

What that means in this concert is we will hear some classic American tunes such as the Shaker melody, Simple Gifts; we’ll hear classic movie themes such as Henry Mancini’s for The Pink Panther and Lalo Schifrin’s Mission: Impossible theme; we’ll hear classic show tunes from Lerner and Lowe and standards from Cole Porter.

“While it is patriotic in parts, the broader scope is Americana,” Terrell says.

There will be numerous patriotic concert standbys, including the Star-Spangled Banner, My Old Kentucky Home and Stars and Stripes Forever.

But Terrell said he saw the concerts as chances to, “reshape that program, and usher in a new era.”

Thus far, Terrell says he’s received a good reaction from people in the orchestra and concert presenters who have seen the program.

Terrell has been putting the program together at the same time he has been moving to Lexington from Charleston, S.C., where he lived as resident conductor of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra.

He has also been solidifying the program for the Philharmonic’s upcoming 2009-10 season. Some noteworthy additions include:

■ Irish tenor Ronan Tynan in an Oct. 10 concert that will be part of the Alltech Fortnight Festival.

■ Acclaimed violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg in an April 17 concert to benefit UK HealthCare.

Information on those concerts and all upcoming Philharmonic events will be available at the Fourth concerts, which are some of the Philharmonic’s biggest events of the year.

“I wanted to do it, and that’s the bottom line,” Terrell said of the concerts. “It’s too much fun and too much of a community event not to take part.”

Scott Terrell, photographed in Lexington hours before being introduced as the Lexington Philharmonic's new music director. Photo by David Stephenson | LexGo.

Click the play button to hear Scott Terrell talk about his vision for the Lexington Philharmonic:

Copious Notes podcasts are available on iTunes.

When Scott Terrell was introduced as the new music director of the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra on April 17, he faced one of his immediate challenges: a sea of orange seats.

There could have been several reasons why the 1,500-seat Singletary Center for the Arts Concert Hall looked about half full on that Friday night. In spring, Lexingtonians’ fancies tend toward Keeneland and other outdoor activities. The Beethoven and Fauré choral program, with the Lexington Singers, had its interesting pieces, but it wasn’t a marquee lineup. Add to that: Not until midweek was the concert promoted as the event where the orchestra’s new music director would be announced.

All that considered, the light turnout was not surprising. The Philharmonic’s crowds have been visibly thinning for a while.

So clearly, part of Terrell’s job will be to reinvigorate the audience of an organization that was a tough ticket to get a decade ago and might have recently suffered from some director-search fatigue.

Evidence suggests that Terrell might be the man for this job.

As I talked to some of his associates in Charleston, S.C., where Terrell is the resident conductor, one of the first kudos they threw him was for initiating programs that attracted new audiences.

Read the rest of this entry »

Scott Terrell addresses some comments to the orchestra after being introduced as the new music director of the Lexington Philharmonic. Photo by Mark Cornelison | LexGo.

Click the play button to hear Scott Terrell chat about being named the new music director of the Philharmonic (Apology in advance: The recording sounds like we’re in the middle of a freeway because we couldn’t resist the beautiful weather, but didn’t realize how loud the traffic was):

This is the first of three Podcasts from our chat with Terrell. Next week, he discusses programming the 2009-10 season and beyond.

Copious Notes podcasts are available on iTunes.

When Scott Terrell auditioned for music director of the Lexington Philharmonic in October, Keeneland was in session.

“I lost,” he said with a smile. “I contributed to the local economy.”

Scott Terrell. Photo by David Stephenson | LexGo.

Terrell’s going to be contributing a lot more, because regardless of how the 38-year-old conductor does at the track this weekend, he’s the big winner in the Philharmonic’s conductor search.

After a two-year, 10-candidate audition process, the orchestra announced at its season-closing concert Friday night that Terrell will succeed George Zack, who is retiring after 37 years as the philharmonic’s music director.

“He’s who the orchestra wanted,” said Margie Karp, a violinist who was also a member of the search committee that waded through applications from 278 conductors.

“He is smart and talented. He’s going to be very demanding, but for the right reasons, because the music demands it. It’s really exciting for the orchestra.”

The new director is also excited.

“The potential of the orchestra is pretty infinite, in terms of where it could actually go, both musically, artistically and within the community,” Terrell said Friday morning. “Also, I was thoroughly impressed with the work the search committee did. That spoke volumes to me to have board members and community people engaged on the level to which they were engaged.”

Likewise, the more the board looked at Terrell, the more its members liked him.

“As I did some of the vetting and called his references, I became more and more excited about the possibility of him coming here,” said lawyer Greg Jenkins, co-chairman of the search committee. “In a few years, I think we will look back and say we were really lucky to get him.”

Terrell is finishing his fourth season as the resident conductor of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra in South Carolina.

“I’m thrilled for him, not for us,” said Jan Newcomb, executive director of the Charleston Symphony. Read the rest of this entry »