Greater Bridgeport Symphony’s Countdown For New Music Director Continues Nov 9 At The Klein With Leslie B. Dunner
Greater Bridgeport Symphony (GBS) continues their search for a new Music Director and Principal Conductor to take the baton from the beloved Eric Jacobsen who stepped down after nine years in 2023 with Dr. Leslie B. Dunner and Countdown 2…Dunner! November 9, 2024, at The Klein Memorial Auditorium in Bridgeport.
Maestro Dunner has built the concert around Joseph Haydn’s “Symphony No. 6.” Written by “Papa” Haydn in 1761, this is considered by many the first true orchestral symphony. Then will come a musical tour of Argentine themes written by Alberto Ginastera in 1953. Finally, Gershwin’s masterpiece – the first major piece he orchestrated himself – will crash and cajole, ponder and pounce off the stage as pianist Norman Krieger and GBS play “Concerto in F.” It’s a grand night of music not to be missed. Dunner calls his program for November 9 “stylishly unique,” and it promises to be a memorable evening, combining the strains of Haydn and Gershwin – immortals of the 18th and 20th centuries – with Argentine composer Ginastera that fuses Classical, Jazz and Gauchesco music. “Maestro Dunner comes to us with a deep and profound resumé in orchestral music and great artistry as a conductor,” says GBS President Mark Halstead. “It’s been over twenty years since GBS performed Concerto in F, and I can hardly wait!”
Dr. Leslie B. Dunner is widely known as an ambassador and teacher of music. Currently he is the conductor of the Interlochen Arts Academy Orchestra, the interim artistic director of the South Shore Opera Company, where he has been music director since 2014, and resident conductor of New Jersey's Trilogy: An Opera Company. The recipient of multiple awards, his stirring performances with the Long Beach Opera of Anthony Davis' historical work “The Central Park Five” received the 2020 Pulitzer Prize in Music. The first American prize-winner in the Arturo Toscanini International Conducting Competition, he is also a recipient of the Leonard Bernstein American Conductors Award and the NAACP's James Weldon Johnson and Distinguished Achievement Awards.
GBS has conducted a nationwide search to find a worthy successor and that person will be announced at the close of this, their 79th season. Countdown 2 . . . Dunner! is the third of four concerts showcasing candidates to succeed Eric Jacobsen as GBS Music Director. The search began with Eduardo Leandro on April 13 as he conducted Prokofiev’s “Classical Symphony ,” Shostakovich’s “Cello Concerto #1” (with GBS’ own Nicholas Hardie on cello), and Beethoven’s “Symphony #8” to great reviews. On October 5 , Joshua Gersen took the podium at GBS’ season opener with Countdown 3: Gersen! Gersen, who recently concluded his tenure as Associate Conductor of the New York Philharmonic , has chosen “ Mozart’s Symphony #40 ,” “ Fate Now Conquers” by Carlos Simon , and Tchaikovsky’s thrilling “ Symphony #4” to showcase his conducting talents. December 14 will bring Countdown 1: Waddell! with joyous Classical and holiday sounds conducted by the final candidate, Rachel Waddell. GBS’ final concert of the season, appropriately called, Something Big! will introduce the winning candidate on Saturday, May 10, 2025 ushering in GBS’ gala 80th Season in 2025-26.