On Saturday, March 11th at 8:00 p.m. at the Morris Performing Arts Center, the South Bend Symphony moves one step closer to finding its new Music Director with the fourth Jack M. Champaigne Masterworks Series concert.

An international conductor, and the SBSO’s fourth Music Director Candidate, Vladimir Kulenovic has been designated as 2015’s “Chicagoan of the Year in Classical Music” by distinguished Chicago Tribune critic John von Rhein.  Vladimir Kulenovic currently serves as Music Director of the Lake Forest Symphony on Chicago’s North Shore, and guest conducts across the globe, from Macedonia to Mexico and many places in between.

“As part of the audition and interview process, each of the Candidates was asked to select the opening work for their respective concerts.  Programming will be an important part of our new Music Director’s job, and all five Candidates have done a terrific job in choosing the most fitting repertoire”, says SBSO Executive Director Agnieszka Rakhmatullaev.

To open his concert, Kulenovic selected impressionist composer Dubussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun.  The work was composed to depict the picturesque scene in which Stephane Mallarme’s poem, of the same name, plays out.  Also on the program is Beethoven’s Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Piano, and Tchaikovsky’s poignant “Pathétique” Symphony.

This concert features three phenomenal guest artists on the “Triple” Concerto: SBSO Concertmaster Zofia Glashauser and Principal Cellist Lara Turner, and University of Notre Dame Professor & acclaimed pianist John Blacklow.  Beethoven’s Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Piano is his only work composed for multiple soloists, making it one of the most unique in his repertoire.

This concert is made possible by the generosity of Series Sponsor Jack M. Champaigne, Guest Artist Underwriter The Brennan Group, LLC, and Concert Partner the University of Notre Dame.  The SBSO’s Music Director Search is underwritten, in part, by the Georgina Joshi Foundation.

Tickets start at $18 and are on sale at The Morris Box Office, by phone at 574-235-9190 or online at www.MorrisCenter.org.  The Morris Box Office is open Monday – Friday, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.   Tickets for full-time students are always $8 with photo ID.

Details for the SBSO’s 2016-17 “Season of Discovery” can be found at www.southbendsymphony.org.