Juneau Symphony selects frequent regional guest performer and leader as new music director
- Mark Sabbatini
- Jul 7
- 2 min read
Brad Hogarth, a participant in Sitka’s holiday brass concerts for a decade, chosen from four finalists
A musician with strong ties to Southeast Alaska as a performer as well as a conductor was named the new music director of the Juneau Symphony on Monday.
Brad Hogarth was selected following an audition of four finalists during the symphony’s four mainstage concerts for its season that spanned from October to June. In addition to lengthy credentials as a music director and conductor for ensembles outside Alaska, he has participated in an annual holiday brass concert in Sitka as a musician and leader for about a decade.
“It’s four concerts a year so it’s sort of doable to sort of balance that with a lot of other things I’m doing,” he told the Juneau Empire a few days before his audition for the symphony’s director’s job by presiding over a pair of concerts the first week of April. “And I just have always loved it up here. The public community in Southeast Alaska is just really, really cool.”
Hogarth, who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, said he met Juneau Symphony Executive Director Charlotte Truitt during one of his visits to Sitka, which led to his interest in applying for the music director job after Christopher Koch departed last year.
A partial list of Hogarth’s other directing and conducting engagements includes the Monterey Symphony, Art Haus Collective, San Francisco Conservatory of Music Wind Ensemble, Dallas Symphony and National Brass Ensemble.
Truitt, in a press release Monday, stated Hogarth was selected as the new music director because "his vibrant podium presence, artistic insight, and collaborative spirit resonated deeply with musicians and audiences alike."
“He brings extraordinary musicianship and a passion for connecting people through music," she said in a prepared statement. "His energy and artistic leadership will guide us into an inspiring next chapter.”
The other three candidates who auditioned were Dwayne Corbin, an Oregon-based professor and conductor who has been the Juneau Symphony’s lead percussionist; Wilbur Lin, music director of the Missouri Symphony as well as associate conductor of the Colorado Symphony; and Tigran Arakelyan, music director of the Northwest Mahler Festival and Port Townsend Symphony Orchestra in Washington state.
The selection process was shaped by input from symphony musicians, audience members, and community partners, culminating in a membership vote, according to Truitt.
Hogarth, during his April visit, said the Juneau Symphony has a unique dynamic in the range of players who gather on stage for the performances.
“It’s unique in that there’s musicians coming from all over the place to play this concert,” he said. “So there’s people flying in from all over the West Coast to be a part of this orchestra. So I’d say first of all, that’s pretty unique — that happens a lot in summer festival orchestras, but I wouldn’t say that it happens a lot in regular-season orchestras.”
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.
