Naples Philharmonic gets new assistant conductor, new section leaders

The Naples Philharmonic will open its season with a noticeably new look in leadership.

It will have a new assistant conductor, an acting concertmaster, and new names in the posts of principal tuba, associate principal trumpet and assistant principal clarinet.  

Added to that: It's between music directors — Andrey Boreyko left at the end of last season after eight years here — and concertmaster Glenn Basham, who had been with the orchestra 30 years, retired last spring.

"It is a year with more than usual changes, due to a combination of unrelated events including retirement, one-year leaves and musicians winning titled positions with other orchestras," said a statement from Kathleen van Bergen, CEO and President, Artis—Naples, regarding the high numbers.

"An orchestra is an ever-evolving and changing artistic ensemble, and we are grateful to welcome the new musicians to join the many talents of the Naples Philharmonic."

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Naples Philharmonic gets a third conductor

The orchestra has not only been working hard to bring in replacements, it has added another position: assistant conductor. 

Alvin Ho, a native of Hong Kong, has been named to that position. Ho served two seasons as assistant conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and was the first prize winner of the 2022 Princess Astrid International Conducting Competition in Trondheim, Norway.

Ho, 29, served as assistant conductor at the Indiana Opera and Ballet Theatre from 2017 to 2020 and has studied with Arthur Fagen, Riccardo Muti and Bernard Haitink. A doctoral candidate, he holds a master’s degree in orchestral conducting from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. 

He will work with Radu Paponiu, associate conductor of the orchestra. The assistant conductor position, according to information from Artis—Naples, is planned as a permanent part of the Naples Philharmonic to:

• Expand the conducting talent available for its programming, which includes performances around the community
• Provide conducting support to the Naples Community Orchestra as part of an Artis—Naples partnership with it. 

Zachary DePue, former concertmaster for the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (2007-2017), has been named acting concertmaster for the Naples Philharmonic. He is a former section violinist for The Philadelphia Orchestra, and has performed around the country as part of the DePue Brothers Band, a family band with an eclectic musical repertoire.

DePue has been here both in his brothers' band, in 2019, and as a member of Time for Three, the string trio he helped found, in 2015.

Previously, Emerson Millar, co-concertmaster of the Philharmonic, served in the  concertmaster function for the past year before leaving to become second assistant concertmaster for the Seattle Symphony. She was named to her position here at age 23 in 2018.

 “I feel extremely fortunate to have spent the last four seasons with Artis—Naples as the co-concertmaster. I am grateful for the generosity and warmth of the Naples community,"  she said in a written statement on her departure:

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She followed the departure of Basham, who had been concertmaster for 30 years and officially retired last spring after a season on leave during the pandemic.

The orchestra changes looks, too

Aaron Tindall is the new principal tuba of the Naples Philharmonic. He is also the principal tubist of the Sarasota Orchestra and the associate professor of tuba and euphonium at the Frost School of Music-University of Miami. He replaces Aaron McCalla, a 17-year veteran of the orchestra, who has joined the San Diego Symphony as its principal tuba.

Forrest Johnston has joined the Naples Philharmonic as assistant principal trumpet. A  native of northern Virginia, Johnston began playing the trumpet at age six, studying with his father. A former student at the Colburn School in Los Angeles, he has won National Trumpet Competition prizes and solo competitions sponsored by the International Trumpet Guild.

He replaces Ansel Norris, who has taken the position of associate principal trumpet with the Florida Orchestra after four years with the Naples Philharmonic. Norris won a singular honor during his time here, earning third place in the inaugural brass division of the international Tchaikovsky Competition in Russia.

Catherine Gatewood has been named assistant principal clarinet. Gatewood, from the Chicago area, plays during summers at the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado. She has played in the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music and is on the quadruple Grammy recording by Leonard Slatkin and the University of Michigan School of Music Symphony Orchestra. She replaces Ashley Leigh, assistant principal clarinet. 

Four new string section musicians were announced as well. According to information requested from the philharmonic, these musicians are not expanding the size of the orchestra, so other players apparently have departed. The new musicians are as follow:

• Magdiell Antequera, Askar Salimdjanov and Roman Yearion, violin
• Courtney Sedgwick Filner, viola

Harriet Howard Heithaus covers arts and entertainment for the Naples Daily News/naplesnews.com. Reach her at 239-213-6091.