The New Haven Symphony Orchestra Board of Directors is pleased to announce that Alasdair Neale has been appointed as its new Music Director. Neale will assume the title of Music Director beginning with the 2019-2020 season, succeeding William Boughton, who will end his 12-year tenure with the orchestra in May 2019. The announcement was made this morning at a press conference held at Southern Connecticut State University.
Alasdair Neale is Music Director of the Sun Valley Summer Symphony (Idaho) and Music Director of the Marin Symphony (California). In his twenty-four years as Music Director of Sun Valley, Mr. Neale has propelled this festival to national status: it is now the largest privately funded free admission symphony in America. Mr. Neale’s appointment with the Marin Symphony followed 12 years as Associate Conductor of the San Francisco Symphony and Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra. Previous posts have included principal guest conductor of the New World Symphony, conductor for the Juilliard pre-college orchestra, and Music Director of the Yale Symphony Orchestra. Neale is a 1985 graduate of the Yale University School of Music.
“I’m thrilled and honored to have been selected as the next Music Director of the NHSO,” says Neale. “I’m eagerly awaiting the opportunity to make music with the phenomenal musicians of the orchestra, to serve the New Haven community, and to once again make my home in the city that so graciously welcomed me for the first time 35 years ago.”
The New Haven Symphony Orchestra’s search process began in the Fall of 2015 with the formation of a search committee comprising NHSO Board Directors, musicians, and community leaders. After a rigorous screening process of more than 150 applicants from across the globe, the search committee invited three finalists, including Neale, to rehearse and conduct the orchestra. Throughout the audition process, the search committee received input from the orchestra’s musicians, audience members, community stakeholders, and administrative staff.
NHSO Board of Directors President Paul Hermes says, “We are embarking on an extraordinary time for the New Haven Symphony Orchestra. The work of William Boughton and our musicians for the past decade has positioned this orchestra and this city to attract the finest musicians and artistic leaders in the world; Alasdair’s appointment is only the beginning.”
Current Music Director William Boughton will be ending his 12-season tenure with the NHSO in May 2019, at the culmination of the Symphony’s 125th Anniversary Season. His future plans include international guest conducting opportunities and his ongoing music education work.
