In April of 2000, I was invited on last minute notice to audition for the position of Resident Conductor with the Orchestre National de Lyon. When I say last-minute, I mean it really was very "last minute"! They phoned me in the afternoon to say that a candidate had cancelled and that I should be in Lyon at 9 am the next morning to conduct: Mendelssohn - Italian Symphony, Berlioz - Roman Carnival Overture, Webern - Passacaglia, and Stravinsky - Firebird Suite! Luckily, I was able to get there quickly, since I happened to be in Besancon, France at the time!
Although I did not get selected for the full-time position, the Music Director David Robertson invited me back to conduct a subscription concert in March 2001. It was wonderful to get to conduct in beautiful Lyon two years in a row. We performed the "African Suite"by Abdullah Ibrahim. This is a piece which mixes a jazz trio with an interesting orchestral accompaniment (click here to read the reviews).
Before my second trip to Lyon, I spent a week nearby in Geneva, Switzerland attending rehearsals of Janacek's opera "Jenufa".
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