Leslie B. Dunner, in his fifth year as music director of the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, has been informed by the ASO's board of trustees that his contract will not be renewed for the 2003-2004 concert season.
The decision to terminate Dunner's association with the local orchestra was reached by the board's five-member executive committee, and presented to the full board of trustees at a meeting Nov. 20, board President Fred H. Billups said yesterday.
"There had been some talk among us about the right length of time for a music director to remain at the head of the orchestra," Billups said. "And we concluded that five years was a good time frame. We felt now was the time for the orchestra to move in a new direction rather than continue on in the same framework."
Dunner was the first African-American to conduct the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra.
His two immediate predecessors, Gisele Ben-Dor, now music director of the Santa Barbara Symphony, and Peter Bay, current conductor of the Austin Symphony in Texas, had six-year tenures with the Annapolis orchestra.
"This wasn't an easy decision," Billups said. "Leslie has performed a great service for the ASO. He's worked extremely well with our musicians and with our educational programs. I think a lot of him, but we felt we needed to move on."
The executive committee's decision that Dunner, 46, not be offered a contract for a sixth season in his $38,000-a-year post was a surprise not only to the charismatic conductor, but to some ASO trustees as well.
"The committee's decision was a total shock to almost everyone sitting around the table," said one board member, speaking on condition of anonymity. "I think most of us had no idea it was coming."
Dunner, who took up full-time residence in Annapolis last year, was surprised and dismayed by the decision. "This is an emotional time," he said yesterday.
"It was quite a shock. I thought the leadership and I had reached mutual agreement on processes that worked best for running the ASO, but I guess that just wasn't the case.