San Juan Symphony Hires New Music Director

Wednesday, March 9, 2016 at 12:00 AM

Thomas Heuser was the unanimous choice of the search committee and the Board after three finalists auditioned for the position this season, according to Board President Polly Morgenstern. He received impeccable reviews from audiences in Durango and Farmington, and from the orchestra members, after guest conducting “Pictures and Visions” in November.

From the San Juan Symphony:

The Board of Directors of the San Juan Symphony announces the appointment of Dr. Thomas Heuser as the fifth Music Director of the 30 year old regional orchestra, effective for the 2016-17 season. Thomas was the unanimous choice of the search committee and the Board after three finalists auditioned for the position this season, according to Board President Polly Morgenstern. He received impeccable reviews from audiences in Durango and Farmington, and from the orchestra members, after guest conducting “Pictures and Visions” in November.

Since 2011, Thomas has served as Music Director of the Idaho Falls Symphony, a position he plans to continue. The diverse programming of his subscription seasons has attracted new audiences, generated solid revenues, and increased community support at every level. He has worked with soloists from around the world, commissioned new works, and bolstered the IF Symphony’s music education efforts with Family Concerts, Side-By-Side concerts, a Young Artists Competition, and more.

Dr. Heuser was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship for orchestral conducting in Germany while serving as the 2010 Conducting Fellow with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. During his doctoral residency in Munich, Thomas mentored with Bruno Weil at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München, performed with Ensemble Oktopus in the iconic Pinakothek der Moderne, commissioned a unique multimedia work for the Fulbright Conference in Berlin, and gave his European operatic debut with Jeunesses Musicales Deutschland.

Thomas has served as the principal guest conductor of the San Francisco Academy Orchestra since 2013. Other guest conducting appearances include the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra, the Utah Symphony Youth Orchestra, the Stephen Foster Youth Orchestra in Kentucky, the Northern Arizona University Orchestra, the Portsmouth (NH) Symphony Orchestra, and the Opera Theater and Music Festival of Lucca, Italy. A diverse musician and composer with many interests, Thomas also trained with countertenor Drew Minter and served as a core member of the acclaimed Pro Arte Singers at Indiana University under John Poole.

The son of two molecular biologists at Washington University in St. Louis, Thomas began violin lessons at an early age and studied piano at the St. Louis Symphony Music School. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Vassar College and went on to earn his Masters degree in conducting from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. In 2013 he received his Doctorate (DMA) in orchestral conducting from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music. Thomas is a student of Bruno Weil, David Effron, and Mark Gibson, and he has mentored with such notable conductors as Paavo Järvi, Larry Rachleff, Gustav Meier, Marin Alsop, and David Robertson.

Please join us in welcoming Thomas Heuser, his wife, violinist Lauren Avery, and their son Theodore to the Four Corners area. Receptions for the Heuser family to meet the Durango and Farmington communities are scheduled for early May.

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