The Durham Symphony Orchestra is excited to announce the creation of our Conducting Fellows Program and to welcome Donovan Polk as the first young professional appointed to this position!
The new program is designed to give young conductors an opportunity to observe all our rehearsals and concerts and to conduct the orchestra several times a year. The goal is to encourage these young professionals and to prepare them for a career leading both an ensemble and a musical community. Music Director Maestro William Henry Curry has mentored dozens of composers and conductors over the past several decades. This new position with the Durham Symphony will allow him to work closely with the Durham Symphony Conducting Fellow on the season’s repertoire and on the craft of conducting–which includes gestural, musical, and personal skills.
Donovan Polk is already an accomplished conductor, composer, percussionist, educator, and academic. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Music with an emphasis on composition from Morehouse College and a Master of Music in Wind Conducting from The University of New Mexico. Currently, he is an educator at Durham Academy, where he works with musical ensembles from kindergarten through 12th grade. He is also a member of the Black Orchestral Network and the Alliance of Black Orchestral Percussionists. After only a month in this new position, he has already impressed the DSO with his musicianship, reliability, and warm personality.
Donovan will be making his conducting debut with us at the Durham Armory on Saturday, December 7th, 2024, during our annual Winter Pops concert. He will be conducting Christmas Overture by the great 20th-century Afro-British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. Please join us as we kick off the holidays and welcome this remarkably gifted young professional into our musical family! (November 2024)
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Check out Maestro’s Mic! Join Maestro William Henry Curry, the esteemed Music Director for the Durham Symphony, as he welcomed the renowned American Composer, Libby Larsen, for an engaging and insightful conversation. Delve into the fascinating background of Larsen’s composition, “Sonnets from the Portuguese“, which was a highlight at our concert Compositions by Her: A Concert Celebrating Women in Music. March 3rd, 2024, 3pm, at the historic Hayti Heritage Center, Durham.
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Enjoy this Spectrum News 1 story featuring the Durham Symphony Orchestra celebrating Women’s History Month at our March 2024 Concert,
“Compositions by her, Celebrating Women in Music!
A Night with Tchaikovsky ~ The Classics You Haven’t Heard
At 7 PM on Sunday, November 5th, 2023, the Durham Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Maestro William Henry Curry, enchanted audiences with a night of musical mastery and historical significance at The Carolina Theatre, located at 309 W Morgan St, Durham, NC 27701. Read the highlights here.
Aidan McManis
We welcomed Aidan McManis to the Durham Symphony as our appointed Assistant Conductor for the 2022-2023 season. Aidan holds a Master’s Degree in Orchestral Conducting from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he regularly conducted several ensembles including the University Symphony Orchestra, Casella Sinfonietta, and Sinfonia Chamber Orchestra. Aidan also served as a graduate teaching assistant in the conducting program throughout his time at UNC Greensboro.
An advocate for new music, Aidan recently completed a residency with the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra in Bulgaria as part of the Sofia Symphonic Summit. While there, he conducted several premiere performances and participated in various masterclasses.
Enjoy scenes from our May 1, 2022 Pops in the Park Concert
Maestro William Henry Curry in a Lively Presentation
May 15, 2021
Read the CVNC Lecture Review of Maestro Curry’s presentation to the Triangle Wagner Society
Maestro William Henry Curry has been published!
January 20, 2021
Maestro Curry has been published by CVNC (Classical Voice of North Carolina)! This music feature is entitled “Persichetti-Lincoln-Nixon – a Study in Inaugural Politics”.
Maestro William Henry Curry has been published!
April 26, 2020
Maestro William Henry Curry has been published by CVNC (Classical Voice of North Carolina)! Topic: Bernstein’s White House Musical, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and What it May Mean Today
Enjoy the article!
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DSO Violist, Norton Dickman
Friends – I am shattered by the news of the passing of DSO violist, Norton Dickman. He was a talented and joyous asset to the Durham Symphony Orchestra. He will be much missed for his warm personality and his wonderful playing. As some of you know, Norton had a side business involving home maintenance. He visited my house twice in the last year to talk about my much needed home improvement options. We wound up talking about music for two hours… and my decrepit back porch for three minutes. But, this is as it should have been. Norton’s love for music was unsurpassed. His kindness and dignity were unsurpassed.He was a gentleman…and a mensch. Mensch: “A Yiddish word describing a person of integrity and honor. Someone to admire and emulate. The term is used as a high compliment, implying the rarity and value of that person’s qualities.” Amen.
William Henry Curry, Music Director, Durham Symphony Orchestra – May 11, 2020
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Introducing Monday Musicale with the Maestro!
April, 2020
To keep connected with our audience and musicians, Maestro Curry has curated 10 years of our concert videos and in April 2020, we began our online series, Monday Musicale with the Maestro. Our newsletter subscribers receive his blog retrospective accompanied by a video musical selection. You can find them archived on our website: https://durhamsymphony.org/conductors-corner/
Women’s Suffrage Centennial
November 3, 2019
Read the CVNC review of this ‘stunning’ classical concert featuring the DSO’s 2019 Young Vocalist Awardee, Jemeesa Yarborough!
CVNC Review
Songs of the South
March 3, 2019
Read the CVNC review of our Songs of the South concert!
CVNC Review
Durham Symphony and Kidznotes Musicians Dazzle Audience
April 6, 2019
27 grand participants of the Kidznotes program took their seats, side-by-side with the orchestra.
Read the review here!
The Mysterious Last Days of Tchaikovsky
April 14, 2017
Host Frank Stasio talks with Maestro William Henry Curry, music director and conductor of the Durham Symphony Orchestra, about Tchaikovsky’s legacy.
Read more
