Conductor History

The Monterey Symphony began at a tea in the Carmel Wood's home of Grace Howden, a professionally trained singer and retired business owner, in December 1946. Mrs. Howden became the first president. From its inception, the orchestra has served both the Monterey Peninsula and the City of Salinas. It was composed of professionally trained musicians who resided locally, amateur musicians who practiced other trades, and imported players to fill out...

The board of directors recruited Canadian Gregory Millar to become the orchestra's first professionally trained conductor. Millar studied violin at the University of California, Berkeley and later performed with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. He returned to the Bay Area and founded the Little Orchestra of San Francisco in 1951, based at the Little Theater in Berkeley from which it regularly broadcasted its concerts live on the nation's first,...

In 1959, Leonard Bernstein named Gregory Millar assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic. Millar passed his Monterey Symphony baton to Earl Bernard Murray. Originally a trumpet player with the San Francisco Symphony under Pierre Monteaux, Murray served as music director for only one season and then became music director of the San Diego Symphony and the long-time conductor of the San Francisco Ballet.

The Monterey Symphony board of directors named Ronald Ondrejka music director for the 1960-1961 season. Ondrejka, too, only served one year when he received an invitation to become Josef Krips' assistant conductor at the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.

The Association then hired John Gosling to become its next music director and the orchestra once again embarked on an ambitious growth plan. The season expanded to five subscription concerts. Gosling engaged such prominent soloists as mezzo-sopranos Claudine Carlson and Nan Merriman, and pianist Rudolph Firkushny. Gosling expanded the repertoire by including works by living composers: Norman Dello Joio’s The Triumph of Saint Joan, Howard Hanson’s...

Jan De Jong, a talented pianist and occasional member of the orchestra, became the next music director of the Monterey Symphony. His appointment coincided with the hiring of Michael Rosenker as concertmaster. Rosenker had just retired from the New York Philharmonic. A great schism quickly took place between the two artistic leaders. The board of directors attempted to mediate the dispute, but ultimately decided that the best solution was to...

Austrian-born conductor Haymo Taeuber had been music director at the Calgary Philharmonic and the Vienna Boys’ Choir. Taeuber recruited new players and lifted the professionalism of the institution. He supported the hiring of a full-time business manager. Other staff positions were soon added as the budget grew. Internationally acclaimed guest artists appeared on stage. The season grew to six subscription concerts. He revitalized the Monterey...

Clark Suttle, assistant conductor of the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, replaced one of the candidates and won the music director position. The musicians, however, voted to strike and walked away from their jobs. Many of them backed another candidate. Through a difficult period of negotiations, no settlement was reached. The Association invited all musicians who wished to return to do so, and all vacant positions were replaced. In only a few weeks,...

Kate Tamarkin was named music director on June 24, 1999. She was welcomed to the community at a special gala concert and conducted a free, outdoor concert in June 2000. The Monterey Symphony performed Camille Saint-Saens' Carnival of the Animals to more than 16,000 school children in April and May 2001. Ms. Tamarkin completed her first full season with the orchestra in May 2001 which coincided with the closing for renovations of Sunset Center,...

Spanish conductor Max Bragado-Darman who had been a frequent guest conductor of the orchestra for the past ten years, was named music director in 2004 and continued in that position until 2020. He continued to build the orchestra's professional ensemble, attracted exciting guest artists, and introduced the community to significant new music. On October 22, 2020, the Symphony Board approved the designation of Max Bragado-Darman, our retired Music...

In March of 2020, the Monterey Symphony closed its doors due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, the pandemic prematurely ended the 15-year tenure of Music Director Max Bragado-Darman. In August of 2020 the Symphony staff and crew live-streamed a year of Balcony Sessions on their outdoor balcony and throughout the Monterey Peninsula . Most notably was the 10-time award-winning ALONE for Solo Violin, Live EFX, and Electronica by Composer in...

The Monterey County Symphony Association announced the appointment of Jayce Ogren as their 12th Music Director on June 1, 2022. The Symphony launched its search in January of 2019 and delayed the audition process twice due to the Pandemic. Ogren conducted the May 2022 concerts for the Symphony which featured works by Debussy, Schumann, Lutoslawski (featuring pianist Philippe Bianconi), and Rachmaninoff. A nine-member Search committee comprised of...