Fawzi Haimor is the Marin Symphony’s new music director — only the fourth in its 74-year history.
Born in Chicago in 1983, Haimor’s extensive résumé includes three years as music director of Germany’s Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen and conducting symphony orchestras all over the world, including in Finland, New Zealand and Qatar.
An Arab American of Jordanian, Lebanese and Filipino descent, Haimor was raised in Saudi Arabia by his father, who worked for the United Nations, for much of his early life before moving to San Francisco at 11 years old. Haimor has played violin since an early age, often playing along to recordings by Ludwig van Beethoven and film-score guru John Williams.
“It wasn’t that easy to get sheet music when I was younger,” he said. “So I would take staff paper, and I would write down the music as I heard it onto the page so that I could take my violin and play along with the recording.”
His initial plan was to study organic chemistry and go to medical school, but his fascination with the music world was too strong for him to resist. The figure of Beethoven loomed especially large in his imagination, not just for his brilliance but for the personal struggles he had to overcome, not least the loss of his hearing.
“I was so amazed at the music that this man wrote, along with the difficult life that he had,” Haimor said. “It eventually got to the point where I wanted to make this my life. Instead of studying organic chemistry, I always found myself going right back to Beethoven.”
An esteemed career in music followed, and though the German Romantic movement heralded by Beethoven’s music is still a major part of Haimor’s focus, he also has an unwavering dedication to the music of modern composers, including Arab American composers like Kareem Roustom, whose “Ramal” was one of the pieces Haimor included on the music program he assembled as a guest conductor for the Marin Symphony earlier this year.
Haimor’s guest appearance with the Marin Symphony doubled as his audition for the newly vacated music director role.
“There was this strong sense of gelling together and just of a wonderful musical collaboration,” said Haimor of the performances. “You could feel the chemistry. It’s not anything that anyone could particularly describe — it’s just a feeling that you have where everything seems to be locking in so well.”
Haimor was announced as the new music director in July, only the fourth following Sandor Salgo (1953 to 1989), Gary Sheldon (1990 to 2000) and Alasdair Neale, who departed in 2023 to relocate to Paris.
Haimor will make his debut as music director with “Masterworks” performances with the symphony at 3 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday at the James Dunn Theatre on the College of Marin campus in Kentfield.
The program kicks off with “Tarantismo,” a piece by contemporary New Zealand composer John Psathas, with whom Haimor collaborated while conducting the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra last year.
“It’s kind of mythical in a way,” said Haimor of “Tarantismo.” “You imagine yourself being bitten by a tarantula, and the only way to get the venom out of your system is to dance more and more frantically until you have this massive climactic moment at the end of the piece.”
The program proceeds with “Hungarian Fantasy” and “Totentanz” by 19th-century Hungarian composer Franz Liszt, whose virtuosic piano performances were greeted with intense audience adulation. Haimor selected these pieces specifically to showcase the skills of Marin Symphony principal pianist John Wilson, a favorite with symphony audiences for his colorful style.
“Liszt was the rock star of the day,” Haimor said. “So it’s very fitting for John to be playing these pieces — he is kind of like a rock star.”
The program concludes with Johannes Brahms’ Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73, a beloved staple of the symphonic repertoire that Haimor has cherished throughout his musical career.
“Our objective is to continue to serve the community the best we can,” Haimor said. “This is what we know how to do.”
Tickets are $47 to $89 for adults and $24 for youth ages 17 and younger. You can purchase tickets at marinsymphony.org.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.marinij.com ’
