After an extensive search that was narrowed down to six candidates from over 100 applications, Charleston Symphony Orchestra has chosen Ken Lam to be their new music director. Lam replaces David Stahl who passed away in 2010.
While covering the music director hunt, resident symphony writer Lindsay Koob wrote, “I was immediately struck by Lam’s unusually precise and detailed conducting style. It was almost as if his two arms had lives of their own — with the right (baton) hand beating dependable time, while the seemingly independent left hand busily attended to pinpoint cuing and expressive gestures that let his players know exactly what he wanted from them. He’s a conductor who has clearly mastered the art of wordless communication with his orchestras. Under his direction, the CSO’s strings sounded especially rich and mellow.”
Lam — who is currently the resident conductor of the Brevard Music Center in North Carolina, Education Conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Artistic Director of the Baltimore Symphony Youth Orchestras, and Associate Professor and Director of Orchestra at Montclair State University in New Jersey — will begin as music director designate this season and then go on to take on the job as music director in the 2015-2016 season.
“Maestro Lam demonstrated outstanding musicianship with a clear vision, possessing charm and charisma that we feel enable him to become an immediate asset to our community. Maestro Lam comes to us with a wealth of experience, and we look forward to his leadership both musically, as well as with our educational programming,” said Michael Smith, executive director in a CSO press release.
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