By Kate Turkelaub
After over two years of searching, the Greenwich Symphony Orchestra has named Stuart Malina its new musical director.
The news was announced via email on June 5, 2022, after the search began in February of 2020. Malina will begin conducting concerts in September of 2022.
Malina was selected from over 170 initial candidates, which was narrowed down to 5 finalists. That final group of talented conductors was comprised of Joshua Gersen, Mélisse Brunet, Martin Majkut, and Ransom Wilson.
The Greenwich Symphony Orchestra will be under new leadership for the first time in 45 years following the retirement of previous musical director David Gilbert.
Before joining the Greenwich Symphony Orchestra, Malina acted as Music Director and conductor of the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra for 22 seasons.
Publicity Director Anita O’Sullivan and Board Member Peter Tesei agreed that all of the finalists were extraordinary, making it a difficult decision, but that Stuart’s engaging persona resonated with the group.
“He is able to talk to anyone with a smile, with intelligence, and bring them into an experience that they might not think that they would enjoy,” O’Sullivan said.
As the process began amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Tesei explained that it gave him great comfort knowing that there were people working with him towards a common goal. O’Sullivan explained the search to be a five-star experience, and her pandemic lifeline.
She deems Malina to be “an absolutely perfect choice for our community, our orchestra and the future of the Greenwich Symphony Orchestra.”
Malina sees this as a huge opportunity to come up with new strategies for the Greenwich Symphony Orchestra, including finding new ways to engage the Greenwich community in classical music. He commended the wide variety of candidates that were being considered for the role.
His main priorities include drawing in a new audience, building financially through donations, and developing infrastructure for success; both O’Sullivan and Tesei commend his proven ability to do so effectively.
“The challenge of building an audience is a double edged sword, because wonderful concerts aren’t enough. At one point, you need to get people in for the first time,” he said.
Tesei said that the board would like to see new, younger people enjoying the symphony. They hope to encourage this by bringing a more social aspect to the experience, whether that be through pre-concert cocktails or post symphony get togethers.
Malina’s wealth of experiences as well as immense talents landed him the coveted role. O’Sullivan ensures that his programming will be compelling, and divert from the expected notion of classical music of being predictable. Tesei adds that diversifying the programming is important for drawing in new audiences.
Also an accomplished pianist, Malina has performed many concertos in Harrisburg, Greensboro, Charleston, New York and Chautauqua.
Malina believes his passion for music has been sustained by his diversions from conducting.
He refers to conducting as an “old friend” he is able to return to after brief hiatuses.
The Tony-award-winner has substantial experience running orchestras in the past, specifically those composed of freelance musicians, which the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra is as well.
“Conducting is very unique, in that you are making music by shaping the music that other people are making. It’s a very different feeling than performing chamber music… I couldn’t give one up,” Malina says, comparing his vast experiences.
One of his favorite aspects of the job is its collegial nature. He believes the beauty of making music is a result of being with other people, communicating and interacting.
The extreme talent possessed by the pool of players involved in the orchestra excites Malina to lead them in the Greenwich High School performing arts center.
“I don’t think there’s anything like conducting a full orchestra in a great repertoire… The audience hears what it sounds like, but on the podium, it’s incredible,” he said.
O’Sullivan and Tesei were both able to get to know the musician’s individual backgrounds better throughout the search process.
Tesei said, “When looking individually at the caliber of people performing, it’s amazing. They travel globally, and are recognized globally… We have a world class orchestra right here in Greenwich.”
The location will also allow Malina to see his many friends and family members that live near Greenwich more frequently. Having grown up in Scarsdale, NY, Malina sees this as a nice opportunity to make music closer to the group of people he loves, and saw the application to be very tempting for that reason.
“This feels like a really nice, exciting, wonderful addition to this wonderful life,” he said.
Malina’s addition to the Greenwich Symphony Orchestra will also extend their network of awareness, Tesei explained.
“Before, we used to have the brochure manually distributed to businesses, maybe an ad or two, but there wasn’t the social media presence. In order to stay relevant, you need to be in the news weekly, putting out content,” Tesei said.
Although his time in the role is still very new, Malina recognizes that the symphony should be what the community needs and wants it to be.
“The key is making every concert really terrific and building artistically over time, shaping how they play in a more consistent way,” he said. “That is what David did over his time, so it’s my turn now to take it in a slightly new direction.
