Why were you interested in the Portland Symphony?
I first conducted the Portland Symphony Orchestra in January 2006 on the Pops Series. The experience was exceptionally wonderful. You can tell when the chemistry is just “right” between conductor, orchestra, audience, community. And that was overwhelmingly clear to me with that first Portland experience. When PSO contacted me to invite me back, this time for a Classics concert, (and only 72 hours after my PSO Pops concert), I knew that something quite serendipitous was happening. All of these feelings were solidified with my second visit (November 2006) for Classics. Plus, I love the ocean, love the outdoors, love active and unique downtown areas, love great concert halls, and I LOVE lobster! So Portland simply feels like the perfect fit.

Are you planning any changes for the PSO?
I wouldn’t think of the word “change” nearly as much as “growth” and “evolution.”  In the past few decades, no orchestra has fared better than the PSO under the incredible leadership of Toshi Shimada. I owe him so much for this internationally recognized orchestra I now inherit.

Of course we will grow and evolve. My thinking in a nutshell works like this: What can we at the PSO do to be as relevant as possible to as much of our city, state, and region as we can? Do we provide musical experiences that would be exciting for the four-year-old to the 104-year-old? And if not, how can we grow in that direction? All the while keeping the highest level of artistry in our music-making as our No. 1 priority. Folks should think of the PSO as a national model for the successful 21st century orchestra.

What are your musical passions?
Hmm. I would say my passions follow a great quote of Duke Ellington. He said there are only two kinds of music: good and bad! I couldn’t agree more. If you were to take a look at my i-pod, you would see that my tastes are all over the map! In the past few years I have seen in concert: Bon Jovi, Reba Mcintyre, David Wilcox (folk music), Nickel Creek, Billy Joel, and Prince. (I’m not including all the classical music in this list, of course). But that gives you an idea!

Tell us a bit about your background. Any particularly inspiring teachers or family members?
I am a native of South Carolina. Grew up there, went to undergrad at Furman University, and then on to the Eastman School of Music for grad school. I fell into classical music by mistake; I got signed up in 4th grade for a strings class (an elementary school girlfriend signed my name as a joke), and that’s where I discovered the cello (my instrument) and my love of great music.

I had some incredible teachers along the way. Greenville, SC (my hometown) was the fourth city in the country (after NYC, L.A. and Houston) to have a public high school for the arts. So from 10th to 12th grade I was able to get a HUGE leg up on my music studies because of that. My teachers there, voice teacher Michael Rice and strings teacher Joann Cohen, were amazing early influences on me. Also the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts (a summer program) was very important for me. I got my first conducting lessons there in the summer of 1984 (with Marion Magill, who had taught conducting at Columbia University). At Furman I ended up student conducting both the college orchestra and the Furman Singers, one of the finer college chorales in the country. Dan Boda and Jay Bocook (orchestra) and Bing Vick (chorus) are as fine of conductors/teachers as I know.

Finally I got to Eastman to study with a person I had wanted to study with since I saw him conduct an All-State Chorus Festival in SC back in 10th grade. Donald Neuen is my principal conducting instructor, and the person I certainly emulate the most in my conducting. Don is now at UCLA (and also conducts the choir for the Crystal Cathedral in California). I have never met anyone with more pure passion for great music than Don. And he is a completely gifted conductor in both orchestral and choral repertory. That was extremely important for me.

What about non-musical influences?
My family. My parents are still in South Carolina, and I have two older sisters. We are a “proverb” family, and so I grew up with many “life proverbs.” The most well known in my house growing up: “Do the best you can and make no excuses” and “If you’re gonna be a dog, be a bulldog!” These are both from my dad.

Nan Burt: Nan passed away in the fall of 2005, at age 106. A native of south Georgia, Nan lived a life that I simply don’t have space on this page to properly represent. I met her in 1990 at the Brevard Music Center (summer festival in western NC). Nan was a major patron of Brevard, and had a passion for music, life, all thing spiritual and metaphysical, and people (especially her “children” – music students at the center) like nothing I have ever experienced before or since. I have in my memory so many wonderful nights, sitting with Nan on her porch in the NC mountains, (often playing gin-rummy and drinking beer) solving all the world's problems. Her standard philosophy – “we are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are SPIRITUAL beings having a human experience” – guided every single step for her. I miss her very much.

Is being a conductor your dream job? If not, what is?
Being a conductor is absolutely my dream job. I have known that I wanted it since I was 15 years old. I had two totally unrelated experiences as a teenager that really sparked me on to a great degree. In 1984 I saw the Chicago Symphony on tour perform the Mahler 1st Symphony with Georg Solti conducting. And earlier, new years day 1981, I saw the Clemson Tigers (my dad’s alma mater) defeat University of Nebraska at the Orange Bowl to cap an undefeated football season and win the NCAA national championship! It’s amazing to witness near perfection as a younger person, and I have striven for that type of excellence ever since.