Music festival unveils artistic director choice

HOT SPRINGS — The Hot Springs Music Festival has announced the appointment of Sameer Patel as its new artistic director.

“Maestro Patel is internationally recognized for his deep musicianship, passionate communication, and is one of America’s most exciting young conductors,” the festival said in a news release.

Patel will continue as associate conductor of the Sun Valley Music Festival, the release said.

“He recently concluded an acclaimed tenure as associate conductor of the San Diego Symphony, where he reinvigorated the orchestra’s programming and connection with its community,” it said.

“With an unending enthusiasm for understanding the music of our time, Sameer has curated programs and has championed music by living composers such as Adam Schoenberg, Anna Clyne, Mason Bates, Ellen Reid, Hannah Lash, Tan Dun, and others.”

His coming engagements include conducting a production of Puccini’s Tosca with Houston’s Opera in the Heights, along with concert performances with the Detroit Symphony, Savannah Philharmonic, Chicago Sinfonietta and the La Jolla Symphony.

Patel, born and raised in

Michigan and a graduate of the University of Michigan, trained across Europe with conductors, including Gianandrea Noseda, Daniele Gatti, the late Kurt Masur, Bernard Haitink, David Zinman, and Neeme and Paavo Jarvi.

Patel is an “enthusiastic advocate for music education, and in his spare time pursues his passions for literature, languages, traveling, history, and geopolitics,” the release said.

Patel lives in Southern California with his wife, Shannon, and their young son, Devan. Patel and his wife met when they were both apprentices with the Hot Springs Music Festival in 2009.