Music

Guest Conductors to Lead Chamber Orchestra

Barbara Arnold |

Drumroll please! The Eau Claire Chamber Orchestra has selected three guest baton-wielders for its 2015-16 concert season as long-time conductor and music director Ivar Lunde Jr. transitions into retirement. Lunde will continue as musical director for the coming season. He will conduct half of ECCO’s opening concert “Just Beethoven” on Sept. 26 and the final concert “American Dreams” on April 16, which will debut the American premiere of his new piano concerto, according to the Chippewa Valley Post. ECCO’s board developed the guest-conductor process to enable input from orchestra members. The guest conductors were chosen from a field of 12 after a two-month search process. The three guest conductors and their concerts are:

Kevin Peters
Kevin Peters

➜ “Dance with ECCO” on Nov. 7: Kevin Peters, from Knapp, is currently the artistic director of the Red Cedar Symphony Orchestra in Rice Lake. He has conducted various shows for theater groups in the area. He has a master’s degree in instrumental conducting from Ithaca College in New York.

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Yuri Ivan
Yuri Ivan

➜ “Around the World in 50 Minutes” on Jan. 23 (the annual free Family Concert): Yuri Ivan, from Ukraine, is conductor of the Kenwood Symphony Orchestra in St. Paul, Minn., and choir director at St. Constantine Ukrainian Catholic Church in Minneapolis. He graduated from the music conservatory in Lviv, Ukraine, and has a doctoral degree in conducting from the University of Minnesota.







Frank A. Watkins
Frank A. Watkins

➜ “Masterpieces from the Italian Baroque” on March 5: Frank A. Watkins, of Eau Claire, is conductor of the Women’s Concert Chorale, the Women’s Chorus, and the Symphonic Choir at UW-Eau Claire. Watkins, a native of Omaha, Neb., is completing his Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Michigan State University. He has an undergraduate degree in piano performance from Jackson State University, and master’s degrees from Arkansas and Northwestern University.