This season the San Luis Obispo Symphony is auditioning five candidates for the position of music director. Marisa Waddell spoke with each candidate throughout the concert season and audition process from September 2016 through May 2017. In this conversation, Marisa chats with conductor Rei Hotoda about her vision and ideas for the Symphony, and with David Hamilton, the chairman of the search committee.
Rei Hotoda is rapidly becoming one of America’s most sought after and dynamic conductors. Hotoda is currently Associate Conductor of the Utah Symphony Orchestra—the first female to hold this position in the Orchestra’s 75-year history. She has also held Assistant Conductor positions with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Winnipeg Orchestra. She has appeared as a guest conductor with many of today’s leading ensembles, including the symphony orchestras of Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, and others. A consummate advocate of new music, Ms. Hotoda has championed and recorded compositions by women composers. Hotoda studied conducting with Gustav Meier at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. She holds a Bachelor of Music Degree in piano performance from the Eastman School of Music and a Doctor of Musical Arts in piano performance from the University of Southern California.