What do you get when you combine an experienced, passionate director with professional, responsive musicians and a community that’s wild about supporting local arts? A Mansfield Symphony season you won’t want to miss!
Thomas Hong already has a little over a year under his belt as the new music director of the Symphony, and the Mansfield arts scene is fortunate to have him. With stints as assistant conductor of the Dallas, Pittsburgh, Seattle and France symphonies, and Associate Conductor of the Fort Worth Symphony, along with tours throughout Europe, Hong’s wealth of experience and background bring an expertise perhaps unparalleled in the Mansfield Symphony’s history.
When Hong was exploring the opportunity of becoming the Symphony’s Music Director, he was impressed.
“The reputation of the orchestra has been very high and it has an excellent history of artistically high standards and really great concerts. Especially early on in its history, many famous soloists came through Mansfield to perform,” Hong said.
But it wasn’t only the artistic standards and history that appealed to Hong. He was also impressed with the quality of talent among the musicians.
“When I took the audition, you never know about these things, because chemistry has a lot to do with how a conductor and orchestra do together. But we found a really wonderful chemistry and a wonderful no-nonsense attitude on both our parts,” said Hong.
Both parties also bring another critical factor to the table: Hong found he and the orchestra members also had a primary desire to make great music and a hunger to make every performance great.
The skill and passion of the symphony musicians equally match Hong’s exuberance for conducting. Hong described the relationship between the conductor and performers as a “living, breathing organism.” To make it work, the conductor has to convince the musicians of his musical interpretation, using arm movements, expressions, and verbal cues to bring out the best in the performers. The orchestra, on the other hand, must possess a high level of sensitivity and awareness to these movements.
Hong is impressed with the performers’ ability to follow the conductor, a critical piece of a symphony’s success.
“In the highest sense, music-making is essentially the orchestra mirroring the conductor. Sometimes I find it fascinating if I move a certain way, it evokes one sound, but if I make one move differently, I get a different sound,” said Hong.
Professionalism, expertise and passion aren’t limited to the director and the musicians. Already, Hong has combined efforts with St. Peter’s Choir, working with Choir Director Bill Johnson on this season’s Messiah performance, scheduled for December 20. In general, Hong has been impressed with the local community. The Renaissance Theatre, the Symphony board members, the musicians and people within the community are “really great people, genuine, earnest and have a deep love for the Mansfield community and the arts,” Hong said. “It won me over.”
Korean-born Hong spends some of his time in Mansfield as Music Director of the Mansfield Symphony, while also juggling time in both Houston and Dallas, where he continues to work as Associate and Assistant Conductor. His wife, a musician in the Philadelphia Orchestra, lives in Philadelphia, which Hong uses as his home base. Emigrating to the U.S. in 1978, Hong began playing the piano when he was 15, earned a master’s degree in choral conducting at Temple University, and has studied with several leading maestros.
This season, the Mansfield Symphony will perform works from Handel and Mozart, among others. From novices to aspiring artists, those in the Mansfield community who have never witnessed the magic that Hong refers to as “sound painting,” nor seen the relationship between a conductor and musicians in action, should take advantage of the artistic treasure that is the Mansfield Symphony in the heart of the city.
“In the highest sense, music-making is essentially the orchestra mirroring the conductor. Sometimes I find it fascinating if I move a certain way, it evokes one sound, but if I make one move differently, I get a different sound,” said Thomas Hong.
