After 20 years on the podium, Timothy Muffitt, music director of the Lansing Symphony, has an announcement.
“Next season will be my 20th season in the Lansing Symphony, and I’ve decided to pass the baton at the end of next season, and give someone else a shot at it.” Muffit said
But Muffitt will not quite be done with the Lansing Symphony after next year.
“I will also remain as an artistic advisor to the orchestra to ease the transition and to provide some continuity from my departure to the time when they hire someone new," he said.
"I won’t be part of the actual search process, but I will be involved in peripheral items, such as planning the chamber music, coordinating repertoire, helping with personnel issues, things like that. So, I’ll still be involved with behind the scenes with the organization until they have someone new at the artistic helm.”
For 15 seasons, Muffitt has worked alongside Executive Director of the Lansing Symphony Courtney Millbrook who is looking forward to celebrating him with a “Year of Distinction” for his final season.
She says the search for the LSO’s next music director will be a bit of a long haul.
"It’s a very deliberate and long process to find a new music director," she explained. "We want to make sure we find someone who's a really good fit for our community and our orchestra."
The position will be posted this spring with a search committee of board members, community members and LSO musicians overseeing the hiring process. Five finalists will asked to guest conduct concerts for audience input.
Muffitt says now is the right time to step down from the podium.
"One of the big things is that the organization is in a good place right now. We have come through the COVID crisis healthy. We have a strong financial position. We have a strong audience participation. We have expanding offerings in the community of many different kinds of things," he said.
"We’re getting a great response. The orchestra, musically, is in great shape, and we have a terrific staff and a terrific board of directors. So, it seems like this is a good one to hand off to someone.”
The Lansing Symphony Orchestra is a financial supporter of WKAR.
