Lexington Philharmonic resumes delayed conductor search, to play ‘Queen’s Gambit’

According to the original plan, the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra would have been well into its second season with its new music director and conductor by now. Of course, next to nothing went according to plans in 2020, when the Philharmonic’s search was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Feb. 25, two years and four days after LexPhil’s last conductor candidate led the orchestra, the search will resume with the first of the final two concerts led by hopefuls for the spot vacated by Scott Terrell who spent 10 seasons leading Lexington’s orchestral repertoire.

On the 25th, Julia Tai will lead the Philharmonic in the same program that had been planned for April 17, 2020: Detroit composer Missy Mazzoli’s “River Rouge Transfiguration,” Ernest Bloch’s “Schelomo; Hebraic Rhapsody” with guest cellist Gary Hoffman, and Felix Mendelssohn’s iconic “Symphony No. 3 ‘Scottish.’” Tai’s current posts include music director of the Missoula Symphony Orchestra & Chorale in Montana, Philharmonia Northwest in Seattle, and co-artistic director of the Seattle Modern Orchestra.

The final candidate, Keitaro Harada, will visit May 21 with a concert featuring two of the pieces he was originally slated to conduct: Loren Loiacono’s “Smothered by Sky” and Sergei Prokofiev’s “Symphony No. 5.” The concerto on Harada’s concert was switched to Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Piano Concerto No. 3” with soloist Xiayin Wang. Harada currently serves as music and artistic director of the Savannah Philharmonic in Georgia and associate conductor of the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra. Area orchestra fans who like to sample out-of-town offerings may also remember Harada as the associate conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestra from 2015 to ’19.

Lexington Philharmonic ‘Queens Rule’ concert

Between those two shows, the Philharmonic will present its “Queens Rule” concert, which was postponed in October due to a surge in the pandemic, April 9.

Led by guest conductor Tong Chen, the concert inspired by the most powerful piece in chess will include Carlos Rafael Rivera’s Emmy Award-winning music for the Netflix series “The Queen’s Gambit,” which was set in Lexington, and the orchestral suite from the Duke Ellington opera “Queenie Pie.” The Ellington piece will feature singers from the University of Kentucky Opera Theatre.

All of the concerts will be at 7:30 p.m. in the Singletary Center for the Arts concert hall, 405 Rose St. Visit lexphil.org or call 859-233-4226 for tickets and complete information.

In addition to Tai and Harada, the other music director and conductor candidates are Thomas Heuser, Akiko Fujimoto, and Kelly Corcoran, who all auditioned in the fall of 2019. Enrico Lopez-Yañez, who conducted the last audition concert on Feb. 21, 2020, withdrew from consideration right before the pandemic. Corcoran has served as interim artistic advisor to the orchestra during the pandemic and also conducted the November concert at the Lyric Theatre featuring works of Lexington native Julia Perry.

If all goes according to schedule, the Philharmonic plans to announce its new music director and conductor this summer, and have the person on the podium for the 2022-23 season.

Crystal Wilkinson NAACP finalist

Lexington-based author and Kentucky Poet Laureate Crystal Wilkinson is an NAACP Image Award finalist in Outstanding Literary Work — Poetry for her first book of poetry, “Perfect Black,” published last year by the University Press of Kentucky.

Wilkinson’s fellow nominees are “Playlist for the Apocalypse” by Rita Dove, “Such Color: New and Selected Poems” by Tracy K. Smith, “The Wild Fox of Yemen” by Threa Almontaser, and “What Water Knows” by Jacqueline Jones LaMon. The “NAACP Image Awards” show is at 8 p.m. Feb. 26 on BET.

Kentucky Theatre is back open

Fans of the Kentucky Theatre, rejoice: The historic downtown movie theater has resumed showing movies with an eclectic lineup following its holiday classics series in December. Keep an eye on the theater’s website for when first-run films are expected to return later this year after repairs to the projectors. Last week the theater announced a series celebrating 100 years of the storied Main Street movie house, starting with a pair of 1920s silent films from Buster Keaton (“Sherlock, Jr.” will be 7:15 p.m. Jan. 29) and Charlie Chaplin (“The Kid”). The Kentucky was shuttered in the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Friends of the Kentucky Theatre group has been working to reopen it with a membership program. Learn more by visiting kentuckytheatre.org.

Central Kentucky theatre: Play schedule

Several area theater companies have shows going up in February.

▪ AthensWest Theatre Company returns to the Pam Miller Downtown Arts Center, 141 E. Main St., Feb. 18 to March 6 with the Robert Harling classic “Steel Magnolias.” Visit athenswest.net for performance and ticket information.

▪ The Woodford Theatre follows up its December return to the stage of “White Christmas” with the Agatha Christie classic “The Mousetrap” Feb. 4 to 6, 11 to 13, and 17-20. Visit woodfordtheatre.com or call 859-873-0648.

▪ The Sara Bareilles musical “Waitress” finally makes its way to the Lexington Opera House, 401 W. Short St., for five performances Feb. 11 to 13 as part of the Broadway Live at the Opera House series. Visit lexingtonoperahouse.com or call 859-233-3535 for showtimes and ticket information.

Rich Copley is a former arts writer and editor for the Herald-Leader who continues to enjoy Lexington’s arts and culture.