(Above: Guest conductor Mélisse Brunet)

By Daniel Buckwalter
(#CommonManAtTheSymphony)

Sometimes, it is just good to embrace the professionalism and wonder of a symphony orchestra from a higher plateau.

Sitting in the right hand area of the mezzanine section of the Hult Center on Dec. 7, I was able to do that as the Eugene Symphony Orchestra took on with gusto the works of Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel (Overture in C), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Piano Concerto No. 23, with guest pianist Spencer Myer) and Felix Mendelssohn (the “Scottish” symphony).

I was able to not just hear but also to see clearly the vibrancy of the orchestra as it went to work, especially the string section, on each of the three pieces. Gentle, calm passages, followed by flurries that saw the bows of the string players strike with precision. It was a wonderful sight.

All of this was performed crisply and with great care by the Eugene Symphony under the baton of guest conductor Mélisse Brunet, a French-born and Iowa-based (a phrase I may never have the opportunity to type again) force at the podium.

Brunet is an assistant professor and Director of Orchestral Studies at the University of Iowa who has done opera and music theater conducting, and there is a showmanship quality to her conducting that I found appealing. It was a delight to watch her embrace the orchestra as well as the music in almost athletic terms, using all of the podium, it seemed, to communicate with the musicians.

The symphony seemed to embrace her, too, and I was struck by life’s timing as a result.
In addition to her academic work at the University of Iowa, Brunet also holds the title of Music Director with the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic and, as of July 2022, also the Lexington (Kentucky) Philharmonic, the first woman to have that post.

As Francesco Lecce-Chong comes to the end of his five-plus-year run as Artistic Director with the Eugene Symphony, the orchestra’s management is well underway in its search for a successor.

I would love to see Brunet’s name in that mix, although her plate may already be full. Still, I hope sometime again to see Brunet at work and, as she did for the audience at the outset of the Dec. 7 concert, say bonjour in return.