F t V K

Concert review: Ward Stare conducts a varied German program at Powell Hall

04-20-2013
“As I have noted before, Ward Stare (who completed his tenure as Resident Conductor of the symphony in 2012 and is now in demand as both and operatic and symphonic conductor) is someone to watch..." (read more)

Music review: Stare, SLSO and Chorus offer fine playing in exquisite programming

04-20-2013
"No longer on staff, Stare conducted this weekend’s concerts at Powell Symphony Hall as a regular guest conductor, one who should return. On Friday night, he led a program that was unusually thoughtful in its construction, and well-performed by all involved…" (read more)

Lyric's darkly funny 'Hansel' good enough to eat

12-10-2012
“Stare brought a firm sense of rhythmic impulse to the music, drawing floods of warm, well-blended playing from his former orchestral colleagues…He made the orchestra a well-defined presence in the drama…” (read more)

Review: Hansel und Gretel (Lyric Opera Chicago)

12-09-2012
This music is magical… The notes mix up childlike simplicity with feisty depth… Under Stare’s baton, the music transports us from cruel reality to dreamlike fantasy to dessert-ed ecstasy. What a ride!…" (read more)

Ward Stare returns to Lyric Opera, with a baton

12-04-2012
“You've heard of pianist-conductors, violinist-conductors, even the occasional cellist-conductor. But how many conductors can you name who began their careers playing first trombone with a major American opera company while still in their teens?…” (read more)

Follow the yellow brick road with Ward Stare and the symphony at Powell Hall

10-27-2012
“Oz With Orchestra” is also a reminder of why Ward Stare’s star in on the rise. Conducting a program like this requires a set of skills that are not, I suspect, common in most conservatories… (read more)

International Conductors’ Academy of the Allianz Cultural Foundation, Royal Festival Hall

04-16-2012
"The dapper Ward Stare is already installed as Resident Conductor at the Saint Louis Symphony and his accomplished account of the evening’s most demanding piece - Stravinsky’s Symphony in C - was cool, collected, super-clear in its intentions, and often beautiful - nowhere more so than in the valedictory (and exceedingly tricky) wind chordings of the closing bars…" (read more)

11 classical music stories to remember from '11

12-31-2011
"My favorite concerts (symphonic)… the collaboration between conductor Ward Stare and pianist Stephen Hough, in Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 2 in G major…" (read more)

Music of the spheres and sounds of the seasons with Jennifer Koh, Ward Stare, and the St. Louis Symphony at Powell Hall

12-03-2011
"St. Louis Symphony Resident Conductor Ward Stare had neither score nor baton but lots of panache when he stepped up to the podium to conduct an utterly captivating Schubert Symphony No 5…" (read more)

Musician of the Month: Ward Stare

11-01-2011
"Ward Stare exudes charm as he bounds on stage and bows to the audience from the podium. He’s a good-looking guy, not tall, but with an athletic build, a full head of black hair and blue eyes. And once he picks up the baton, he’s all about the music…" (read more)

SLSO, Stare and Hough triumph in Friday concert

04-29-2011
“SLSO resident conductor Ward Stare was clearly a phenomenal talent when he arrived here in 2008, but he has continued to mature and to refine his art to an impressive level...” (read more)

Exciting Tchaikovsky, exotic Scriabin with the St. Louis Symphony

04-30-2011
"clearly a rising star in the conducting firmament... Mr. Stare really took the spotlight in the second half of the program, turning in a tremendously persuasive performance of Alexander Scriabin’s sometimes discursive but always intriguing Symphony No. 2...” (read more)

A Debut, an Anniversary and a Springboard for Young Players

06-29-2010
"Ward Stare, music director of the youth ensemble (comprising musicians ages 12 to 22) and resident conductor of the St. Louis Symphony, has trained his charges exceptionally well...." (read more)

SLSO gives powerful performance

11-28-2009
"Resident conductor Ward Stare is by now familiar to St. Louis audiences for pops and Youth Orchestra performances. Friday night's performance was his first regular St. Louis Symphony Orchestra subscription program. He definitely has the chops to conduct at that level..." (read more)

Is That in Your Job Description, Maestro?

04-05-2009
"Ward Stare, the orchestra's able young resident conductor, took Mr. Robertson's place on the podium.....Under Mr. Stare the musicians performed this circus of a score.....More than fun, the piece touches the dark side of childhood fantasy during ethereal passages, wrong-note chorales and bursts of fearsomely pummeling rhythms..." (read more)

Titans of music and human rights meet on common ground

04-08-2009
"Stare, who is in his second season as the resident conductor of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra and music director of the Saint Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra, is enthusiastic about this weekend's program..." (read more)

Seen and Heard International Concert Review

03-04-2009
"At ease and assured in his surprise Carnegie Hall debut, Ward Stare led the orchestra in a dynamic performance that ranged from coaxing to merry to downright sinister..." (read more)