The journey to becoming the head of Miami Beach’s New World Symphony started with Stéphane Denève hiding in the back of a chapel.
He sat listening to one of the nuns playing the organ at his Catholic school. She noticed him and asked him if he’d like to learn to play.
He was 10. But that led Stéphane into a lifetime of music.
This year, he takes over as artistic director for the man who founded New World Symphony more than 35 years ago. It’s a big responsibility. New World is a champion for making classical music accessible in South Florida.
You might have seen NWS' popular Wallcast series, where they project live performances on the wall outside the New World Center. It’s yet another challenge in Stephane’s conducting career.
Stephane had been a guest conductor at New World for years.
He remains the Music Director of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, and he’s the Principal Guest Conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic.
He commutes between there and Miami Beach. But South Florida is special to him. He calls it a dream place.
New World’s season started last month. And its next Wallcast performance is Oct. 14.
On the Oct. 9 episode of Sundial, we talk with Stéphane about how Miami Beach inspires his work.
On Sundial's previous episode, we spoke with Jason Seife's who has his first solo show, Coming to Fruition, at the Perez Art Museum Miami. His style honors his Cuban and Syrian parents.
Listen to Sundial Monday through Thursday on WLRN, 91.3 FM, live at 1 p.m., rebroadcast at 8 p.m. Missed a show? Find every episode of Sundial on your favorite podcast app, such as Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and Spotify.
