He is your British everyman in Oregon — learning baseball during Symphony Night at a recent Eugene Ems game and knowing enough about local sports to say “Go Ducks” at the drop of a hat. He’s the 33-year-old Alex Prior, and you can’t miss him on the podium, not with his shock of hair and flamboyant clothing styles. Prior is the new artistic director and conductor of the Eugene Symphony Orchestra, taking over for Francesco Lecce-Chong and becoming the symphony’s ninth conductor, and he will make his formal debut Sept. 12 at Hult Center’s Silva Concert Hall. Make no mistake, the man can conduct. Prior proved that in his audition Oct. 24, 2024, leading the symphony with all-consuming joy. Prior’s presence is just one change for Eugene Symphony as it embarks on its 66th season. The newly minted Masterworks Series will have eight concerts instead of nine, making room for another concert in the newly-named Blockbuster Series (a tribute to the rock band Journey Sept. 12). Additionally, there will be two Sunday afternoon performances in the Masterwork Series, Oct. 12 and March 15, 2026. “By adding more weekend and daytime performances, the symphony is giving families and busy professionals more ways to attend — and responding to patrons who simply don’t like to be downtown after dark but still want to experience live symphonic music,” says Dave Moss, Eugene Symphony’s executive director.

Eugene Symphony Orchestra’s performance of The Music of Journey, the first of its Blockbuster Series, is 7:30 pm Thursday, Sept. 12, at Hult Center’s Silva Concert Hall. The symphony’s Masterwork Series begins at 2 pm Sunday, Oct. 12, with Fate and Fire: Bernstein and Tchaikovsky, also at Silva Concert Hall. Ticket information is at HultCenter.org. More information about the Eugene Symphony is at EugeneSymphony.org.