Before the COVID-19 crisis began, longtime Western Michigan University Symphony Orchestra music director Bruce Uchimura asked Andrew Koehler, a prominent regional conductor and a professor of music at Kalamazoo College, to conduct the symphony for the 2020/21 season. In an interview with Cara Lieurance, Koehler says he was thrilled at the chance to work with an ensemble of dedicated young players on canonical repertoire. Now, with the pandemic threatening to disrupt school openings, Koehler is navigating restricted paths for music-making at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo College, and as director of the Kalamazoo Junior Symphony Orchestra. He discusses some of the solutions, and the repertoire that will be remembered by the players as music that got them through the pandemic.
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