After a two-year search, the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra named Jose-Luis Novo yesterday as its new conductor and musical director.
Novo was among six finalists who tried out for the chance to succeed Leslie B. Dunner, whose contract was not renewed after five years.
Birthplace: Valladolid, Spain
Age: 38
Family: married (his wife, Lori Kesner, is an American flutist)
Education: After studying at a conservatory in his hometown in Spain, he attended the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels, then came to the United States as a Fulbright scholar. He holds master's degrees in music and musical arts from Yale University. He also completed a master's degree in orchestral conducting at the Cleveland Institute of Music.
Professional experience: Music director and conductor of the Binghamton Philharmonic since February 2003; assistant conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra; music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra, the Oxford (Ohio) Chamber Orchestra and the Miami University Symphony Orchestra; associate conductor of the National Repertory Orchestra; and assistant conductor of the National Youth Orchestra of Spain and of the Yale Symphony Orchestra. Since 1999, Novo has been a member of the conducting faculty at the Eastern Music Festival in Greensboro, N.C.
Start date: July 1
Plans: "This orchestra has big plans ahead, and I'm thrilled to have been chosen to lead them to their goals. I think we have an exciting future."
