JoAnn Falletta has been appointed artistic director for the Honolulu Symphony. joannfalletta.com

Falletta, the music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, will attend, participate in and oversee musician auditions in Honolulu, New York and Chicago, the symphony announced.

Besides recruiting, Falletta also will guest-conduct a performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 here in December, renewing ties with the Honolulu Symphony.

Falletta said she will not be involved in the search for a new Honolulu music director to replace maestro Samuel Wong, who has announced his desire to step down after the 2004-05 season, which would be his ninth. Wong also will become conductor laureate, an honorary title, at the start of the 2005 Halekulani MasterWorks season.

Carolyn Berry, a veteran symphony supporter and board chair, will head the search committee for Wong's successor. A full committee is expected to be named later this month.

"Anytime you work with an orchestra, you carry back to your own orchestra, so I think the arrangement will be mutually beneficial," said Falletta. "Every community is different, and I look forward to learning from musicians and the different communities."

She said recruiting musicians amid financially strapped times can be difficult but "you have a great advantage; who doesn't want to work (in Hawai'i)?"

"I know the orchestra board is challenged to build the salary, and I know the board wants excellence in musicians. I'm happy to provide some help. ... I look forward to a good relationship."

Stephen Bloom, president of the Honolulu Symphony, applauded Falletta's appointment.

"JoAnn Falletta is one of America's leading conductors, recognized for her innovative and exciting concert programming and wonderful recordings, and we are delighted to welcome her to our Honolulu Symphony 'ohana," said Bloom. "Her leadership and expertise will guide the symphony through this exciting, new phase of growth and development as we initiate an international search for a new music director.

Last weekend, Falletta conducted the Buffalo Philharmonic in its heralded return to Carnegie Hall in New York.

Falletta has earned many accolades. The New York Times has called her "one of the finest conductors of her generation." An effervescent and exuberant artist on the podium, she has been praised by such papers as the Washington Post.