Music in the Mountains: Artistic director appointment Gregory Vajda

Gregory Vajda, the Hungarian clarinetist and recent guest conductor, has been chosen to be the new artistic director for Music in the Mountains.

Vajda, who recently conducted during the Summer Fest 2009 and Spring Fest 2009, will follow founder Paul Perry to lead western Nevada County’s professional orchestra.

Vajda has been working with the Oregon Symphony Orchestra and previously served as assistant conductor of the Milwaukee symphony Orchestra, in additional to other guest conducting and principal conducting in Montreal, San Antonio, Atlanta, Fort Wayne, San Jose and Budapest.

When The Union asked him in the spring why he would want to settle in the Sierra Nevada Foothills after working in big cities around the world, he replied, “Because it’s a great gig.”

Music in the Mountains’ festival schedule, community support and opportunity to bring in a wide variety of music, in addition to mainstream classical, offered unusual creative opportunities, Vajda added.

For more, read Thursday’s edition of Prospector.