Arts & Entertainment

Norwalk Symphony's New Conductor: Jonathan Yates

Jonathan Yates, the new conductor and musical director of the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra, wants the orchestra to have stronger ties with surrounding towns and with local churches, schools and community organizations.

The Norwalk Symphony Society has announced that Jonathan Yates will replace Diane Wittry as the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra's newest conductor and musical director.

"I felt he, at this time, is best positioned to lead NSO in a vertical way that will connect with our loyal base of fans and open doors to many new ones," said Emil Albanese, the president of the board of governors. "It was a very difficult decision because of the level of talent the position with NSO attracted. I feel very lucky that we were able to attract Mr. Yates."

Yates was among three finalists for the job who were part of an at the Norwalk Concert Hall last month in which each conducted the orchestra.

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What he wants to do

In an interview that night, Yates said he'd try to strengthen the orchestra, had severe enough to the tail end of the last season (a final replacement concert was presented in May). Yates said he would do so in part by "getting soloists that are thrilling" and "other guest artists who are really exciting" to spark the publics interest.

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Yates said he also wants to have chamber concerts in the communities surrounding Norwalk and create partnerships with community organizations, such as church choirs and schools.

"It's a matter of really extending the Norwalk Symphony's reach and bringing in a wider audience," he said.

"It's a matter of really extending the Norwalk Symphony's reach, and bringing in a wider audience.

Education and career

Yates has been the conductor for the Sarah Lawrence College Orchestra and music director of the Camerata Notturna, a New York City-based community orchestra, according to the orchestra's website,  which also provided the following information about the conductor:

As a concerto soloist, he has performed with orchestras in North America, Europe and Asia. He also performed right here in Norwalk in February, conducting the Norwalk Youth Symphony in Norwalk Concert Hall.

As a conductor, he made his professional orchestral debut at the age of 23 with the National Symphony Orchestra, and the next year he made his Carnegie Hall debut as part of the Isaac Stern Chamber Music Workshop.

Yates has a strong interest in opera and has taught French, German and Italian vocal diction at Sarah Lawrence College, He conducted Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice and Paride ed Elena at the California Music Festival as well as the world premiere of Michael Webster's Hell.

New music is also an interest. He has been a part of various premieres of new works, and was the recipient of an award from ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers) for adventurous programming.

Yates received his bachelor's degree from Harvard University, where he studied with Robert Levin. His master's degree in music came from the State University of New York, where he worked with Gilbert Kalish.

His graduate diploma in conducting came from the Juilliard School, where he studied with James DePreist and Otto-Werner Mueller and where he was awarded the Bruno Walter Memorial Scholarship.


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