San Diego misses out on conductor

Recall that time when Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla came to visit the San Diego Symphony and conducted Sibelius’s Violin Concerto and Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring? She was maybe, possibly, a candidate to be the next music director in San Diego. Not any more.

Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla is now the new music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) and San Diego is but a sunny memory. Those who follow classical music will remember that this is the orchestra with which Simon Rattle became Sir Simon Rattle and then went on to be the music director of the Berlin Philharmonic.

Gražinyte-Tyla replaces Andris Nelsons at the CBSO. Nelsons went from Birmingham to the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He is one of the hottest conductors in the world and his name came up regarding the upcoming vacancy in Berlin. However, Nelsons is staying in Boston while taking over the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra simultaneously.

This is great news for San Diego and for the symphony. It confirms that the symphony leadership knows, without a shadow of a doubt, what they are doing.

It proves that the guest conductors coming to San Diego this season are worthy candidates on the world stage beyond the limited insights scraped from a bio in the program. This news also affirms the work Maestro Ling has done to build the orchestra and refine the sound season after season.

None of this is news to the symphony board, but I think it helps give fans of the San Diego Symphony some context as to the direction of excellence the orchestra is heading in.