Stewart Kershaw: a maestro who was music to our ears

IT is difficult to imagine the Pacific Northwest Ballet performing its perennial blockbuster, "The Nutcracker," this holiday season without its music director, Stewart Kershaw.

Kershaw recently announced his retirement and while fans mourn, 25 melodic seasons at the podium of the ballet's orchestra deserve a round of applause.

Kershaw was an amazing force in Seattle. He built a massive oevure combining good intonation with a dynamic leadership that led to bold, idiomatic performances by the orchestra.

Part of the audience's enjoyment certainly was the way Kershaw lent musical scores his own brand of magic. A critic said of the ballet's premiere of "Romeo et Juliet": "Music director and orchestra conductor Stewart Kershaw took Prokofiev's score and delivered a flawless performance that matched beautifully with the grace of the dancers."

Another critic called the PNB orchestra perhaps the best in the country — high and well-deserved praise.

Kershaw placed his stamp on "The Nutcracker" in 1983 and the ballet company still performs his version more than 40 times each holiday season.

Kershaw fans will be glad to know the conductor is not retiring from orchestras altogether. He will continue as music director with the Auburn Symphony in South King County, which he created in 1997. He will also write his memoirs, regaling fans with stories about a career that spanned 43 years, starting with an appointment to London's Royal Ballet in 1966 and that has led him to conduct 70 orchestras in 15 different countries.

Bravo!