New Artistic Director of Burnt Hills Oratorio Society
The Burnt Hills Oratorio Society is pleased to announce the appointment of of its new Artistic Director Dr. William Jon Gray.
The search process, which began in September, involved ALL of the BHOS membership. It has been a wonderful and enlightening experience and allowed the chorus the great opportunity to be exposed to a number of talented choral conductors in the Greater Capital Region.
The first step in the search was the creation of a search committee. An open invitation was presented to the chorus and all who volunteered became members. Chaired by the very capable Jane Rose, the search committee invited feedback from the entire choral membership concerning potential candidates, and an invitation to apply was sent to every candidate on the list. Of those candidates who responded to the invitation with an application, four were invited to guest conduct at the 11/10/15 BHOS rehearsal. This process provided a two-way meet and greet and feedback from the singers was garnered for further consideration by the search committee.
The final phases of the selection process included face to face interviews, a democratic vote of the search committee, and a final recommendation to the Board of Directors. The search committee presented their candidate to be the next Artistic Director. The Board forwarded the invitation to Dr. Gray, and he accepted the position, effective 1/1/2016.
This is a brief summary of an extensive process that involved the embodiment of BHOS in meetings, discussions, and soul searching. With every step, the search committee was committed to honoring the input it received from the choral membership. The BHOS family has taken the next step to fulfill its mission statement: Passionate Choral Performances for the Greater Capital Region.
To allow our new Artistic Director Dr. Gray time for planning and scheduling, the opening rehearsal date has been moved to January 26, 7:00, at the BHBL High School chorus room. There is much work to be done, and we promise to share with the chorus regularly, as we prepare for our initial, welcoming rehearsal of the new Burnt Hills Oratorio Society.
The Board of Directors