San Diego Symphony hires Ling

The San Diego Symphony confirmed recent rumors Friday when it announced that Indonesian-born conductor Jahja Ling, 51, will become the orchestra’s new music director beginning in September 2004.

Ling, who was born in Jakarta of Chinese descent, served as guest conductor with the orchestra in January. His appointment culminates a two-year international search to find a replacement for Jung-Ho Pak, who resigned the post in March 2001.

In an interview Friday, Ling cited among his main reasons for accepting the position the recent donation of $120 million to the orchestra -- most of which is earmarked for the symphony’s endowment fund -- from Qualcomm mogul Irwin Jacobs and his wife, Joan, the largest donation ever given to a symphony orchestra. He was also attracted by the unusual opportunity to fill 25 empty seats in the orchestra.

“No. 1 is the musicians’ enthusiasm to make good music; the second is the idea of creating a wonderful orchestra because of the vacancies I can fill and the third is the stability the orchestra will have from the gift from the Jacobses,” Ling said.

Ling has been resident conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra for 18 years and he will continue to serve as director of that orchestra’s summer Blossom Music Festival after he assumes the San Diego post. He is conductor laureate of the Florida Orchestra, where he was music director for 14 years, and he has served as artistic director of the National Symphony Orchestra, Taiwan. He has also been a guest conductor with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Ling said his continuing involvement with an international group of orchestras will bring him continual exposure to new talent to fill the empty slots. “I really love this challenge because you can create a potential for inviting the best musicians here to play,” he said.

“With what San Diego has to offer, such a beautiful city, with such beautiful weather, you can attract a lot of musicians to come here.”

Ling said his goal is to assemble musicians who can adapt to many styles of music. “If you play Mozart, it should sound like Mozart; if you play Mahler, it should sound like Mahler,” he observed. “Most orchestras can play a big romantic work, but can they play a Mozart, can they play a Schubert? It’s a big job, molding an orchestra so it can be that flexible.”

He added that the job includes molding audience expectations as well. “If you have the highest quality, the highest integrity of music-making, the audience will feel it,” he said. Ling also acknowledged the need for creative marketing. “We first have to get them into the concert hall,” he said. “Then their lives will be changed, their souls will be touched; they will be moved to tears.”