The Springfield Symphony Orchestra opens its 83rd season Saturday night with one of the concerts in its search for a new music director. Deanna Tham, one of five finalists, will conduct the 7:30 p.m. season-opening “Morgante Violin Concerto” program, pairing a new concerto with a Brahms symphony.
Tham currently serves as music director of the Redlands Symphony and most recently worked as associate conductor of the Oregon Symphony, according to her guest conductor biography posted by the orchestra. She previously held assistant conductor posts with the Omaha Symphony and the Jacksonville Symphony, and served as principal conductor of the Jacksonville Symphony Youth Orchestras, per the same biography. In 2024 she advanced to the semifinal round of the La Maestra Conducting Competition in Paris, France, the orchestra's bio notes.
Violinist Samuel Vargas will perform Andrés Martín's violin concerto “Morgante,” written specifically for Vargas and drawing on Latin and South American dance influences, according to MassLive. Vargas, a Venezuelan-born violinist, was appointed concertmaster of the LaGrange Symphony Orchestra and currently teaches at the Schwob School of Music, according to symphony.org. Johannes Brahms' Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98, makes up the program's second half, MassLive reports.
A Five-Way Search for the Next Podium Leader
The orchestra announced its five music-director finalists Wednesday, September 30, 2026, according to WWLP. Four finalists, including Tham, are scheduled to guest-conduct one concert each during the 2026-27 season, the station reports. WWLP describes the Springfield Symphony Orchestra as western Massachusetts' sole professional orchestra and the state's largest outside Boston, with more than 70 contracted musicians.
WWLP reports that the orchestra's previous music director search was in 2001, when Kevin Rhodes was hired—a historical precedent distinct from the current finalist-concert process. The orchestra plans to select and announce its next music director after the 2026-27 season, with the chosen leader's first full season set for 2027-28, according to the orchestra's music director search page. A MassLive report from last November described the role as providing artistic vision while honoring traditional symphonic programming and embracing innovation.
Behind the Program Choices
The season opener places a music-director finalist on the podium alongside a concerto's dedicatee. MassLive reported that Springfield Symphony Orchestra President and CEO Heather Caisee-Roberts said audiences would have a chance to weigh in on the orchestra's future.
In comments reported by MassLive, Tham discussed representation, youth orchestras and Brahms' continuing relevance.
What national attendance data can show
The National Endowment for the Arts’ survey report notes declines since 2017 in several forms of arts activity, including attendance at live, in-person performances. The finding is national, not Springfield-specific, according to the National Endowment for the Arts.
Tickets, Timing and a Community Partner in the Lobby
Tickets for Saturday's concert range from $30 to $85 and are available online, by phone at 413-733-2291, or at the box office at 1350 Main St., Suite 114, in Springfield, according to MassLive. Rick's Place, a nonprofit offering grief support to children, teens and families across western Massachusetts, will staff a lobby table from 6 to 7:30 p.m. before the concert and during intermission. MassMutual is the orchestra's 2026-27 season sponsor, the outlet reports.
Tham holds a master of music in conducting from Northwestern University, a professional studies certificate from the Cleveland Institute of Music, and a bachelor of fine arts in horn performance from Carnegie Mellon University, according to MassLive's reporting. Elsewhere in the program notes cited by the outlet, the orchestra points to composer Louise Farrenc, whose overture was kept from orchestral performance for 150 years despite her determination to compose — a detail woven into the evening's framing around new and overlooked voices in the classical repertoire.
