Sarasota Orchestra names Anu Tali music director

   After an 18-month search, the Sarasota Orchestra has named Anu Tali as its new music director.
She's the fifth music director in the orchestra's history, and the first woman to hold that position.
   Tali's 40 years old. She was born in Estonia, and trained at the St. Petersburg State Conservatory. In 1997, she co-founded the Nordic Symphony Orchestra (NSO) with her twin sister Kadri. Tali earned her first international recognition in 2003 with the NSO’s debut album, "Swan Flight." That same year she was presented with The Cultural Award of Estonia.
   Local audiences may recall her two appearances as guest conductor with the Sarasota

Anu Tali

Orchestra. The first was in 2011, and the second this past January, when she led the orchestra in Prokofiev's "Romeo and Juliet."
   Orchestra president and CEO Joseph McKenna said Tali's concerts were among the best-attended and best-received in the history of the Sarasota Orchestra.
   As music director, she'll set the tone, literally and figuratively, for the orchestra. Among other duties, she'll oversee everything from the selections of seasons to the addition of new musicians. and will be the primary conductor of the orchestra's masterworks season.
McKenna praised Tali for her "energy and charisma."
   “We are confident Anu will enhance and invigorate the way people perceive live classical music in our region, build on our past successes and attract new audiences to our great Orchestra,” McKenna said.
   Tali’s first concerts as music director will be November 8 – 10,  when the orchestra opens the masterworks season. She will also conduct the Masterworks Feb. 20 – 23. Carlos Prieto, who was originally scheduled for that slot, will be a guest conductor in a future season.