Conductor Arild Remmereit, who
was to become music director of the Rochester Chamber Orchestra next season,
has withdrawn from that commitment. He has also canceled his remaining
appearance conducting the RCO this season, on October 27. The RCO’s longtime
music director and founder, David Fetler, will lead that concert.

RCO board president Tom Paul said
this afternoon that Remmereit asked to be relieved of his RCO commitments
because future conducting engagements would make his work in Rochester
impossible.

Remmereit will conduct the
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra on October 18, 19, and 20 and the Buffalo
Philharmonic on November 2 and 3. And Paul said that Remmereit’s management
firm wants to be able to secure other engagements for him in the US and in
other parts of the world.

Remmereit was appointed to the
RCO post in May after being terminated as music director with the Rochester
Philharmonic late last year. He had the title of conductor with the RCO for the
current season and had led the chamber orchestra in a well-received “Remembering
Frederick Douglass” concert on September 19.

The RCO has begun a search for a
new music director to succeed Fetler, who retires at the end of this season
after 50 years.

This article appears in Sep 25 – Oct 1, 2013.

Mary Anna Towler is a transplant from the Southern Appalachians and is editor, co-publisher, and co-founder of City. She is happy to have converted a shy but opinionated childhood into an adult job. She...

4 replies on “Remmereit leaves chamber orchestra post”

  1. Not a particularly impressive display of loyalty to those in the Rochester community who supported Remmereit during his troubles with the RPO.

  2. Agreed, and not surprised. When you read some of the other comments from the other articles posted today…you can’t help but think the RCO did him a favor phrasing it the way they did. All those ardent supporters who fought for him a year ago–Musicians and Board members alike–supported his move to the Chamber Orchestra (and went in full force to hear him just last week).

    And now he’s leaving. Abruptly, no less, due to “scheduling conflicts.” Future engagements yet to be announced are preventing him from conducting a pre-planned concert four weeks from now?

    Come on.

    You can fill in the blanks.

  3. Anonymous – It will be interesting to see how the Remmereit cultists, the ones who tried to claim that the the evil RPO management was enagaged in a conspiracy to despose the Maestro, deal with his abrupt abandonment of Rochester. This reminds me of how corporate executives who are forced out are said in to be leaving, “to pursue other business opportunities”.

  4. And this is considered news? Take a look around, there are more important things happening that deserve news coverage.

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