Late conductor switch at Grant Park

Thu Jul 13, 2017 at 2:05 pm

By Lawrence A. Johnson

Gemma New
Gemma New

There will be a last-minute conductor change for this weekend’s concerts at the Grant Park Music Festival.

Simone Young, who was in town to lead this week’s second program, had to return to Australia due to a family emergency, a festival spokesperson said Thursday afternoon.

Gemma New will replace Young for these concerts, which will take place 6:30 p.m. Friday and 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Pritzker Pavilion. The New Zealand conductor is music director of  the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra in Ontario and resident conductor of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.

The program will remain the same: Matthew Hindson’s Headbanger, Strauss’s Symphonia Domestica and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with soloist Andrew Tyson. gpmf.org

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3 Responses to “Late conductor switch at Grant Park”

  1. Posted Jul 16, 2017 at 10:46 am by VJH

    My wife, sister-in-law and I attended Saturday evening’s concert. Ms. New’s conducting of all three pieces was exceptional. This was especially true of Strauss’s Symphonia Domestica! Ms. New’s led the Orchestra through a spirited performance that brought the audience to its feet at its conclusion. Bravo!

  2. Posted Jul 16, 2017 at 4:18 pm by Ann Kowalsky

    My husband and I attended the Grant Park Symphony last night in Chicago. Gemma New was nothing less than brilliant! Just watching her was a treat. I hope to see her here at the Grant Park Symphony again — or the Chicago symphony

    7/17/2017.

  3. Posted Jul 16, 2017 at 7:33 pm by Richard Eastline

    Gemma New’s hand movements in conducting the GPMF orchestra instantly impressed me as being decisive and fully appropriate to the music passages being played. Her actions made it clear that she had complete control of the musicians’ output. One couldn’t ask for a finer display of professional skill.

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