The Dallas Symphony Orchestra welcomes Rei Hotoda to the podium!

 

Rei is a wonderful conductor and pianist who will be starting her new job as the Assistant Conductor of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra this year. She comes to Dallas with her 9-year-old son Konstantin from Winnipeg, Canada, where she was the Assistant Conductor for the past 3 years. Her job in Dallas will be to conduct all the DSO Youth Concerts & Parks Concerts, most of the Family Concerts, and be ready to fill in for Maestro van Zweden or Guest Conductors if they’re too sick to perform one day.

Rei was chosen from more than 100 conductors who applied for the job, and when she finished her conducting audition with the orchestra, everyone agreed that she was the right person for the job. Choosing a conductor for an orchestra is kind of like making a new friend. Sometimes you just know it’s right the first time you meet them.  That's the way it was with Rei.

Ms. Hotoda studied conducting with Marin Alsop and Gustav Meier, two of the finest conductors in North America, and she has led many fine orchestras throughout Canada, America, and Europe. She also loves new music, and has conducted or performed the music of many wonderful composers from Asia.

Sometimes, when she’s preparing for a Youth Concert or a Family Concert, she will practice in front of her son. She says he gives her lots of great ideas about what’s exciting and what appeals to kids.

In 2007, Hotoda recorded Symphony Sessions, a CD featuring singer Steve Bell and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.  This fall you'll find her on two new CDs.  The first one is called Apparitions, on which she plays solo piano music by contemporary Asian composers; the second one is called This Will Not Be Televised, and it features members of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra performing music by Nicole Lizee under Hotoda’s baton.

Ms. Hotoda loves kids as much as she loves music, and she's happy to answer any questions you might have.  Just email your question to j.allen@dalsym.com.