New West Symphony names Marcelo Lehninger as new music director

Marcelo Lehninger, the young Brazilian German maestro who serves as an assistant conductor for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, has been named music director of the New West Symphony, which is based in Thousand Oaks.

The orchestra said Lehninger will assume the post at the start of the 2012-13 season in September. He will lead four concert series during his inaugural season.

An orchestra spokeswoman said the contract is for three years, with the possibility of an extension.

Lehninger, 32, serves as the associate conductor of the Minas Gerais Philharmonic Orchestra in Brazil. His tenure as assistant conductor at the Boston Symphony began in 2010.

Lehninger will succeed Boris Brott, the founding music director of the New West Symphony. The orchestra was created in 1995 through the merger of the Ventura County Symphony and the Conejo Symphony.

The group performs regularly at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, the Oxnard Performing Arts Center and Barnum Hall in Santa Monica.

Lehninger has previously appeared as a guest conductor with the New West Symphony, most recently in April.

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