Chicago Sun-Times: Conductor Sameer Patel championing diversity in classical music, inspiring young musicians across the globe
Chicago Sun-Times
By Kyle MacMillan
He will make his debut Feb. 20 with MusicNOW, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s contemporary music series.
When Sameer Patel began thinking about making conducting his career, the Indian American didn’t have many role models who looked like him other than one very important one — famed maestro Zubin Mehta, former music director of the New York Philharmonic.
“In my community,” Patel said, “it’s very common for a young South Asian person to choose a path in medicine, engineering or law. One of the things that helped me explain my interest was this ability to say my friends and my parents’ friends, ‘Oh, I want to be a conductor.’ And they would be, ‘Oh, like Zubin Mehta.’ That was a very inspiring thing for someone like me.”
Patel, 40, has gone on to a successful career, serving as artistic director of the San Diego Youth Symphony and guest-conducting professional orchestras including the Toronto Symphony and Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.
He will make his debut Monday with MusicNOW, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s contemporary music series. It features members of the ensemble in configurations typically ranging from duos to small ensembles.
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