Hisham Groover will be Augustana’s next orchestra conductor. Groover was selected by a search committee alongside President Andrea Talentino and Provost Dianna Shandy. The orchestra hopes the new conductor will stabilize the program after a series of multiple turnovers.
After an unpredictable year, students look forward to Groover’s arrival in the fall of 2024. Their former conductor, Sam Stapleton, resigned at the end of January for undisclosed reasons. Bruce Briney, former professor of music at Western Illinois University, and Augustana’s Janina Ehrlich, professor of cello and music history, temporarily fill the vacancy as the orchestra prepares for the upcoming spring opera.
James Lambrecht, co-chair of the music department, said he believes Groover could break the cycle of director turnover, giving the ensemble long-awaited consistency. Lambrecht sat on the past four search committees for the orchestra conductor.
This year’s search committee consists of several staff members: Lambrecht, Jacob Bancks, Jon Hurty, Nadia Schwartz and Kevin Geedey.
“It’s important that our main ensembles are filled with tenure track kinds of people for longevity and consistency,” Lambrecht said.
For the past few years, Augustana’s orchestra conductors have left the position after one year. Often, they leave Augustana for different positions, either at different universities or professional ensembles. According to senior orchestra student Amanda Gravelle, the rapid turnover of conductors has left students feeling unstable.
Entering her last semester of college, Gravelle said she has learned from a different conductor every year. While the orchestra students learn new skills from each conductor, Gravelle said the frequent turnover is exhausting.
“We’ve learned how to adjust to lots of different conducting styles, and it’s helped us grow closer as an orchestra because we haven’t had the consistency in the form of a director,” Gravelle said. “But the lack of consistency can be really difficult.”
After former Orchestra Conductor Ernesto Estigarribia announced his resignation during the 2022-2023 school year, the search committee conducted a nationwide search. Meanwhile, the committee hired the most recent conductor, Stapleton, to temporarily fill the 2023-2024 school year position before he left unexpectedly at the end of January.
The college announced the position in the fall of 2023 and began receiving applicants shortly after. The search committee assessed applicants on their musicianship, pedagogy, teaching philosophies and past experiences.
“Even as an ensemble director, [conducting] is only 50 percent of what we do at a place like Augustana,” Lambrecht said.
After sorting through applicants, the search committee compiled a list of about five applicants to interview. The finalists were brought to campus for final interviews and rehearsals with students. After their final interviews, President Talentino and Provost Shandy had the final say.
Groover visited campus the first week of the spring semester, where he led rehearsals and interacted with students. According to sophomore orchestra student Megan Yarusso, the orchestra received Groover well.
“His approach to the music was definitely detail-oriented,” Yarusso said. “He had a very good ear for phrasing, the overall tonality and mood of the music… It wasn’t just about getting the right notes.”
Yarusso hopes that a new, hopefully long-term, conductor will bring consistent communication and expectations. Through the inconsistency, Lambrecht said the students have been great at adapting to new conductors and making the orchestra the best it can be.
“It’s been a long four years, but hopefully we found somebody that is going to do not only an outstanding job but maybe even stay long term,” Lambrecht said. “Like the rest of the faculty, we hope he finds a home here at Augustana.”
