Santa Monica Symphony Names New Director : Music: Allen Robert Gross, 47, will take over the podium beginning in October.

Allen Robert Gross, 47, conductor of the Occidental-Caltech Symphony, has been appointed music director and conductor of the Santa Monica Symphony beginning with the 1991-92 season.

A member of the faculty at Occidental College since 1983, Gross was formerly head of opera and orchestra programs at the University of Louisville. He also served as guest conductor with the Louisville Orchestra and Kentucky Opera.

Gross has conducted in opera houses in Germany--at Freiburg and Aachen--and held posts as conductor of both the Heidelberg Castle Festival and the Junges Kammerorchester Heidelberg.

The New York City-born conductor was chosen at the end of a two-year search for a new Santa Monica Symphony music director after the resignation of Yehuda Gilad.

Gross said he plans to add a measure of contemporary scores to the Santa Monica orchestra’s programs, “pieces that work with this orchestra, and also appeal to audiences. We will start cautiously, of course.”

The season will open Oct. 13 in Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, longtime home of the orchestra. However, programs and scheduling for 1991-92 are not yet complete, Gross said.