GREAT FALLS — The Great Falls Symphony's search for a new conductor continues this weekend as Brandon Horrocks takes the podium for the orchestra's holiday concert, marking the third of six candidates vying to lead the ensemble.
Horrocks, who will conduct Saturday's performance at the Mansfield Theater, brings a unique blend of musical passion and nonprofit experience to his audition. The maestro hopeful has made music education and community engagement central to his conducting philosophy.
Tim McGonigal reports - watch the video here:
"I always want people to know music should be fun and I want to make it fun," Horrocks said.
His musical journey began at age 5, encouraged by parents and teachers who nurtured his passion for singing and playing. Even while working in the nonprofit sector, music remained a constant in his life. When he was laid off from a nonprofit job about 10 years ago, he saw it as an opportunity to pursue his true calling.
"I went back to school and to become a conductor, and that's what kind of got me started on that path," Horrocks said.
That path led him to work with university orchestras as a music director before landing a teaching position at Texas A&M, where he also gained more podium experience.
"I got an opportunity to conduct the Kingsville Symphony Orchestra down there this season as well," Horrocks said.
Familiar with the work of previous conductors Gordon Johnson and Grant Harville, Horrocks expressed excitement about building upon their established foundation.
"The foundation has been there for a long time. But the community, I think, is getting to a point where they're very excited about what they have here. And it's a very special, gem for any city to have," Horrocks said.
He believes two key factors work in his favor for the position: his commitment to community orchestras and his nonprofit background.
"Number one, my commitment to community and community orchestra, the fact that I understand community orchestras really well, having those experiences, but also, my background in nonprofit organizations, working in them, leading some of them being on boards, and being involved in the community that way," Horrocks said.
Watch the extended interview with Horrocks:
The candidate particularly appreciates the Symphony's Youth Orchestra program, viewing music education as essential for developing lifelong skills.
"The fact that you can be in school, learn about music, pick up an instrument, sing whatever it might be. That's a skill you can have your entire life," Horrocks said.
Sunday's holiday concert will showcase Horrocks' ability to blend his two musical loves: choir and orchestral music. The program features a Christmas Movies medley alongside other familiar works and some lesser-known pieces.
"I wanted to sort of bring both worlds of that together to feature the orchestra really well, but also to feature the choir," Horrocks said.
Despite the challenges of rehearsals and concert logistics, Horrocks maintains his core philosophy about music-making.
"At the end of the day, as challenging as rehearsals can be, as frustrating as putting concerts together can be, and all the logistics for me, my driving philosophy is that music should be fun," Horrocks said.
The holiday concert takes place Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. with a pre-concert talk at 2 p.m. at the Mansfield Theater.
