The Idaho Falls Symphony begins its “New Frontiers” season on October 17 with a performance designed to identify the organization’s next permanent music director.
The opening event, titled “The Melting Pot,” takes place at the Frontier Center for the Performing Arts. It marks the start of a six-concert Search Series in which each regular-season performance features a different guest conductor. At the conclusion of the season, one of those conductors will be appointed as the symphony’s new music director.
Shizuo Z. Kuwahara leads the orchestra for this first concert. Kuwahara, who was born in Tokyo and holds a master’s degree in conducting from Yale University, previously won first prize at the Solti International Conducting Competition.
The program highlights Amy Beach’s “Piano Concerto in C-sharp Minor,” performed by Kara Huber. Huber is a Canadian-American pianist who has received GRAMMY nominations for her work. A New York Concert Review described her playing as “absolutely dazzling…in a word, flawless.”
The repertoire also includes Yuzo Toyama’s “Rhapsody for Orchestra” and William Grant Still’s Symphony No. 1, “Afro-American.”
The October performance is designated as a Pink Ribbon Concert to highlight Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Mountain View Hospital and Teton Cancer Institute serve as naming sponsors for the event. Additional support comes from ElevateHer Music, the Miles and Virginia Willard Charitable Trust, and Arthur & Annelies Kull.
Tickets for the concert range from $29.50 to $49.50.