When the Carmel Symphony Orchestra takes the stage for its historic 50th anniversary season this fall, the music floating through the Payne & Mencias Palladium will carry a heavy weight of responsibility.
The 2026-2027 season, titled “Horizons to Heroes: A Season of Celebrations,” is designed to honor America’s 250th anniversary through a tapestry of sweeping landscapes, romantic devotion and deep community reflection.
To lead this monumental milestone, the orchestra has named Maestro David Commanday as its new music director.
A seasoned cellist and conductor who previously led the orchestra through seven well-received concerts during the 2023-2024 season, Commanday returned to the planning table to help curate this celebratory year.
Commanday views live orchestral performance as a fleeting, irreplaceable human phenomenon.
“I feel as a musician and a human a strong sense of responsibility, a steward in a way, of the art form,” Commanday said. “Performers’ and musicians’ obligation is to bring music alive for our listeners, to make music in a way that is true to the composer’s imagination, to ensure it’s not just accurate, but that to the extent we can, channel that composer’s message through that piece of music.”
A Global Career Rooted in Excellence
Commanday brings a distinguished career spanning three continents to the Carmel community. Known for performances marked by musical insight, compelling immediacy and a vital connection between musicians and audiences, his appointment signals an ambitious new chapter for the orchestra.
A cum laude graduate of Harvard College, Commanday trained in conducting at the University of Vienna under Otmar Suitner, the general musikdirektor of the Berlin State Opera. There, Commanday was awarded the Austrian Staatsdiplom in orchestral conducting with highest distinction.
His professional conducting career began with his appointment as music director of the Boston Ballet, where he collaborated with legends Rudolf Nureyev and Violette Verdy while directing orchestras throughout Europe and North America. He has worked with ballet companies across the country, including the Joffrey, Ballet West, Pacific Northwest, Kansas City, Orlando and Oklahoma City ballets.
Beyond the podium, Commanday is an accomplished cellist. While serving as principal cellist at Tanglewood, he performed under the batons of Leonard Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa and Aaron Copland — transformative experiences that ultimately inspired his transition to conducting. Throughout his career, he has shared the stage with musical icons such as Yo-Yo Ma, Bobby McFerrin, Matt Haimovitz and Michael Steven Brown.
An educator as well as a performer, Commanday led the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras to national recognition, earning three ASCAP awards for adventurous programming and leading four international tours. His academic resume includes faculty appointments at Harvard University, Boston University, MIT and Virginia Commonwealth University. He currently serves as director of the Eastern Symphony Orchestra at Eastern Illinois University and has completed four annual residencies by invitation of the Singapore Ministry of Education to conduct the Singapore National Youth Orchestra.
In 2009, he founded the innovative Heartland Festival Orchestra, where he continues to serve as artistic director and conductor. He previously earned the title of Illinois Conductor of the Year.
Engaging the Next Generation
The upcoming Carmel season aims to reverse the lingering isolation of the pandemic era by offering tactile, shared experiences that streaming platforms cannot replicate.
“The performing arts and orchestras are having to rebuild back because so many people got out of the habit and also discovered the instantaneous wealth of options,” Commanday noted. “Being physically together and live in the moment is so important. We need to rebuild and regain our communal humanity, and the arts can play a great role in giving people reason to come and celebrate art.”
To meet the next generation of listeners, the orchestra is embracing sensory and visual components designed to capture modern attention spans. While the classical foundations remain unchanged, presenting masterworks with modern, immersive elements acts as a gateway to bring new patrons into the fold, ensuring traditions of support, volunteerism and philanthropy continue.
The journey begins Oct. 10, 2026, with “Horizons: The Promise of a Vast Land.” The opening concert pairs Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man” and Ferde Grofé’s “Grand Canyon Suite” with Antonín Dvořák’s Cello Concerto, featuring rising guest artist Alexander Hersh. Hersh, a brilliant young Chicago-based cellist, embodies the new generation of performer, boasting a vibrant online presence and a talent for filmmaking alongside his chamber music credentials.
Though Dvořák was a Czech composer, Commanday notes the piece fits perfectly within the American historical narrative.
“Dvořák came to America, was inspired by America, and wrote this piece in America because of his experience here,” Commanday explained. “He brought his Czech voice, but he was moved and inspired by America to write this incredible masterpiece, which is unlike any other cello concerto. It is such a hero’s journey.”
Commanday sees Dvořák’s American period as a testament to cultural synthesis. While experiencing life in New York and Iowa, Dvořák immersed himself in African American spirituals and Native American music.
Commanday noted that Dvořák was deeply moved by the sounds he encountered during his time in the United States, famously predicting that the ultimate foundation of American music would be built upon African American spirituals.
Local Legacy and Community Traditions
On Dec. 13, 2026, the orchestra will present its annual “Holiday Pops: Traditions, Nostalgia and Joy,” sponsored by IU Health. The festive lineup features Randol Alan Bass’s “Gloria,” Leroy Anderson’s “A Christmas Festival,” and selections from Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker Suite” and John Williams’ “Home Alone.”
The 2 p.m. family matinee will run for one hour without an intermission, followed by a musical instrument scavenger hunt in the lobbies of the Palladium. Commanday has also invited Carmel Mayor Sue Finkam to narrate Clement Moore’s “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” during the evening program.
The emotional core of the season shifts to romance on Feb. 13, 2027, with “Hearts: Romance, Longing, and Devotion,” featuring Leonard Bernstein’s “Candide Overture,” Howard Hanson’s Symphony No. 2 and Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2, performed by Kosovar pianist Anila Aliu, who has been identified as a “young star” in the world of classical music.
One of the most anticipated and locally resonant programs arrives March 27, 2027, with “Angels: Art, Light, and the Unseen.” Guest conductor Mélisse Brunet will lead George Antheil’s “Serenade for Strings” and Morton Gould’s “Spirituals for Strings,” leading into Copland’s “Appalachian Spring.”
The Copland masterpiece will serve as the live soundtrack to a multimedia presentation created by filmmaker Alex Kosene, honoring the life and luminous artwork of his late mother, legendary Zionsville artist Nancy Noël. Noël was deeply cherished in the local community for her love of nature, animals and people.
Commanday, who named the concert “Angels” after researching Noël’s legacy, worked closely with Kosene to match the musical architecture to the 25-minute film arc, which covers her youth, her love of nature, and her famous paintings of children, the Amish and ethereal angels.
“I discovered that the ‘Appalachian Spring’ of Aaron Copland has an evolution, including the Shaker hymn, ‘Simple Gifts,’ which kind of goes into the Amish theme,” Commanday said. “There’s nature in that, and there’s also a little bit of strife… I came back to Alex and said, ‘Please listen to this, I think this could work.’ And he said, ‘I love it, it’s perfect.'”
The season concludes April 24, 2027, with “Heroes: Legends of American Song and Stage.” The grand finale features George Gershwin’s “Cuban Overture,” selections from “Porgy and Bess” and a “Gershwin Song Suite” featuring world-renowned Indianapolis soprano Angela Brown. The milestone year officially closes with Béla Bartók’s powerhouse “Concerto for Orchestra.”
As the Carmel Symphony Orchestra prepares to launch this milestone season, Commanday envisions each performance as an emotional Odyssey for the Central Indiana community.
“I think of every concert as a journey for the listener,” Commanday said. “Every composer in a piece creates a world, and then the listener travels inside of it. My ambition for this season is to make every concert welcoming, enjoyable and inspiring to return.”
For more information about the Carmel Symphony Orchestra season, visit carmelsymphony.org. Purchase tickets at thecenterpresents.org.
Photography courtesy of CSO