When Carolyn Watson raises her baton Saturday to lead the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, she understands that she could raise an eyebrow or two.
Oh, hardly because she is a female maestro, though that in itself is still unusual enough in the symphonic world.
No, it perhaps would be more because she is staking her first impression — and her bid on the orchestra’s music director post for next season and beyond — on a mostly contemporary program fittingly titled “Rhythm and Blues” amid a field of bandleader candidates who have selected largely more traditional works in their appearances earlier this season.
“It was part of my big wish list (for this concert),” Watson said, speaking by phone from the University of Illinois, where she serves as director of orchestras.
Each conductor candidate vying for the post occupied since 1987 by now-retired artistic director David Bowden suggested a few different programs. And then the orchestra selected one for the performance.
Her program kicks off with nearly three minutes of what she calls “high octane energy” in the form of Kevin Day’s understandably titled “Lightspeed,” followed by “City Beautiful” by her friend Ingrid Stolzel about music’s power to shape a community — a concept that the Philharmonic has discussed for years as part of its central mission. Another work, Margaret Bonds’ “Montgomery Variations” chronicles major events in the civil rights movement.
Watson, a native of Australia who has conducted ensembles worldwide, trusts the audience to relate to her selections.
“I think the audience will recognize some of the tunes and some of the styles,” she said. “And I think they will very much connect with the program as a whole. When I put this program together, I took quite a bit of time to look back at what the local orchestra had performed through the years. And this seemed like a really good fit.”
Watson’s background reads like a stellar listing of highlights from an orchestral who’s who. She serves as principal guest conductor of the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra and music director of the La Porte County Symphony Orchestra in northwestern Indiana.
She has been based in the United States since 2013, during which time she has led performances with the Austin Symphony, Catskill Symphony, Detroit Symphony Civic Orchestra, Interlochen Philharmonic, Kansas City Ballet, Kansas City Chamber Orchestra, St. Joseph Symphony and World Youth Symphony Orchestra. Recruited internationally as music director of the Interlochen Arts Academy Orchestra, she won the 2015 American Prize for Orchestral Performance with this ensemble.
Her other accomplishments and performances fill another three full paragraphs. That includes nurturing and attracting younger audiences, something that every other candidate has addressed as well. She hardly seems to lean toward big secrets here.
“At the end of the day, I believe that people respond to a quality product, great music, and I believe that a very good-sounding orchestra is the first start,” she said. “Exciting, interesting and engaging programs also are an element there — things that really speak to people and offer a very common theme.”
Before deciding what audiences would be listening to from the Philharmonic if she were chosen to lead, she has been clear that her first order of business would be to listen to the listeners first and foremost to discover their wishes and tastes.
” I could have the most amazing ideas in the world,” Watson said. “But that’s not going to land anywhere or be effective if that’s not what the audience is looking for.”
About the concert
Who: Conductor candidate Carolyn Watson leading the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic.
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Where: Judson Erne Auditorium, 1400 25th St. in Columbus.
Tickets: thecip.org
