The late Vernon Handley, known as Tod, led two English orchestras. One, the Guildford Philharmonic, is being shut down in local authority cuts. The other, the English Symphony Orchestra, has been searching for a new chief since Tod’s death four years ago. The ESO is based in Malvern, at the Elgarian heart of the country.
Today, it picked an American, Ken Woods, to lead its next season. Good call.
Ken Woods is, of course, the maestro at the helm of Wrexham’s brilliant DIY Mahler cycle!