Dear WSO Family,

 

The Wellesley Symphony Orchestra has appointed Mark Latham as its fifth Music Director. A professor of music at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, and music director of the New Hampshire Philharmonic Orchestra, he also conducts at the CAMMAC Orchestra of Quebec and the Atlantic Canada Chamber Music Institute of St. Johns. Dr. Latham brings broad experience, deep humanity, and a profound love of music to his new role. He was chosen after a two-year selection process, during which a board-appointed search committee reviewed 65 applicants. Last spring, the committee invited 5 finalists to each rehearse and conduct a concert as part of the audition process. 

 

Dr. Latham’s style of working with the orchestra along with his infectious enthusiasm for the music inspired the orchestra. During the February concert entitled “From Darkness to Light” he led the orchestra from the anguish in Beethoven’s “Coriolan” Overture, through the prism of Theofanidis’ “Rainbow Body”, arriving at Tchaikovsky’s joyful and triumphant Fourth Symphony. He succeeds Max Hobart, who retired in 2021 after 27 years with the orchestra.

 

“In the short five weeks preparing us for our February concert, Mark won the orchestra over with his warmth, sincerity, openness, effectiveness, and respect for all of the members,” said Carol Davidson, president of the orchestra board. “It was a challenging program and he prepared us extremely well. We are very excited about starting this new chapter in the orchestra’s history.”

 

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Born in Tanzania and educated in the UK and the US, Somerville resident Mark Latham holds degrees in violin performance from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, the Philadelphia College of Performing Arts, and Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music, and a DMA in orchestral conducting from the University of Michigan.

 

“I am so delighted, honored and excited to have been named the next Music Director of the Wellesley Symphony Orchestra, one of the truly venerable musical institutions in New England. What impresses me most with the WSO is that its high level of musicianship is constantly augmented by its sense of teamwork, friendliness and purpose; by a desire not only to make great music, but to bring that out into the community, leaving its listeners with a lasting sense of something meaningful, significant and even ecstatic. I look forward to joining the team, and contributing whatever I can to furthering this vision, and simply to have fun making music together,” said Dr. Latham.