Case Scaglione, 26, named director of youth orchestra

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OMG -- Los Angeles is getting a conductor who’s even younger than 27-year-old Gustavo Dudamel, the wunderkind soon to take over as music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic: The Young Musicians Foundation (YMF) of Beverly Hills has named Case Scaglione, a 26-year-old Houston native, as the new music director and conductor of the YMF Debut Orchestra, now in its 54th season.

Scaglione succeeds Sean Newhouse, who is moving on to a post as associate conductor of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.

Other celebrated conductors who led the YMF early in their careers include Andre Previn, Michael Tilson Thomas, Myung-Whun Chung, Daniel Hege, Larry Foster, Lucas Richman and Jung-Ho Pak.

Scaglione, who studied orchestra performance at the Cleveland Institute of Music, is currently completing a graduate performance diploma in conducting at Baltimore’s Peabody Institute of Music. He is also the recipient of the 2009 James Conlon Conductor Prize, given by the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen. The award’s namesake Conlon serves as music director of Los Angeles Opera.

The YMF was founded by the very colorful Sylvia Kunin in 1955; more about her in our 2003 story.

-- Diane Haithman