For Marc-André Bougie, the upcoming Texarkana Symphony Orchestra season will be the final one making music with the musicians who perform under the elegant sway of his baton at the venerable Perot Theatre.
Bougie, the founding conductor and music director for the TSO and one of the dreamers and doers instrumental in its birth, will conclude his full-time TSO work at the end of the 2017-2018 season. We may see him back as guest conductor.
Bougie plans to remain in Texarkana with his family and continue his teaching duties at Texarkana College, his work directing the Texarkana Regional Chorale, work with religious music at Sacred Heart Catholic Church and even do some composing.
Bougie says this was a personal decision he made, reflecting on a milestone in his life.
"Last September, I turned 40. This past year, as I contemplated the future, I came to the conclusion that the time had come for me to pass the baton," Bougie said in a written statement about his decision. "This upcoming season, I will provide TSO with the same conducting and artistic excellence that all have come to expect."
Talking with the Gazette, Bougie said that with taking stock of where he's been and what he's done, after a dozen years of concerts and more, it's time to move on to something else.
"It's been great working with folks. We've had some awesome programs. Conducting wise I think I've done a good job," Bougie said, adding, "It's good to go at the top before things get too difficult. Texarkana is still our home. My wife (Candace Taylor) and I are established here."
Looking back, he calls it "quite a ride," starting on what he calls a symphonic adventure when he was only 29 years old.
"The job I've done has always been two-fold. It's been a music director job and a conductor job. The part that 99.9 percent of the world sees is the conductor job, which is when I'm on stage," Bougie said. It requires a specific skill, he said, comparing it to doing body work on a car.
"It's a technique, a skill you learn," Bougie said. But for the music director work, it's different, charting an artistic course that advances the TSO and brings the audience along-"for a ride that's ever more deep in the world of music," he said.
"For one person to do this for over 10 years, that's a long time," Bougie said.
In particular, the conductor and music director cherishes the couple of years he worked with Remica Gray and Mary Scott Goode to get the TSO started.
"Those first two years with Mary Scott and Remica, getting the TSO going, that was probably the most professionally gratifying and enjoyable period of my life," Bougie said, noting, "These were magical years. (I'm) a big Disney fan. The word magic has meaning to me."
He estimates that he's been involved in more than 100 concerts, recitals and other events during his tenure. And there's a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes to get it all done.
"And I've enjoyed every minute of it," Bougie said, noting that doing all this with one group for so long means it was working in many ways.
"But part of leadership is also to know when to leave, move on," Bougie said, adding, "To me it seemed like this year was the year to start planning on this and making the way for new direction."
Bougie will be at the helm for three shows in this twelfth TSO season: "Symphonic Pictures" on Saturday, Oct. 14; "Christmas at the Perot" on Sunday, Dec. 10; and "Symphonic Impressions" on Saturday, April 7. Bougie will also conduct the TSO for its student concerts in January.
"He was our founding conductor, a hugely important role in the birth of an organization, and really grew the orchestra into a great regional orchestra," said Andrew Clark, the TSO's executive director.
What personal qualities did Bougie bring that helped the TSO succeed? Clark said Bougie's experience directing the Texarkana Regional Chorale meant he knew the public, for one thing.
"He had this dream. There had been many attempts in Texarkana's past to have a professional symphony orchestra here," Clark said. Bougie, Gray and Goode were all "ready and willing" to make it happen. They worked hard to get the TSO going, said the TSO's executive director.
"Marc set a great artistic arc of progress for the organization," Clark said, noting Texarkana has "a great artistic gem here" and Bougie played a huge role in this process.
The two shows Bougie won't conduct this next season have guest conductors. "One is the 'Windborne's Music of Journey,' which of course has a guest conductor anyway," Clark said. Also, the other masterworks concert in March, he said, has been slated for a guest conductor, too, per the TSO's strategic plan.
"And for that concert we have just finalized hiring the Arkansas Symphony conductor, Philip Mann, who will be conducting that March 3, 2018 concert," Clark said, noting the concert will help the audience see that other conductors, too, can guide the TSO during a masterworks concert.
For this upcoming season, Bougie won't serve as music director, which involves future planning of the organization. Bougie first notified the TSO about his decision in March.
The TSO board has already begun the search process to find Bougie's replacement. Clark says they anticipate it will take 12 to 24 months to hire a new conductor and music director.
"It will be a national search," he said. The TSO plans on having finalists conduct in front of the orchestra and community. The orchestra also plans to honor Bougie during this upcoming season.
"The TSO's next music director will be one who can build on the work begun by Maestro Bougie, to broaden the orchestra's artistic prowess, expand the performance repertoire and engage Texarkana's diverse audience in new and creative ways," said Don Howren, board president, in a statement.
Bougie feels gratitude for many, including the founding patrons of the TSO and its founding sponsor, the Junior League of Texarkana. "Special gratitude is extended to our musicians for bringing the music to life for so many years," the conductor said.
"I am proud of the great artistic work that has been accomplished, and I will cherish for a lifetime many of the musical memories made with the TSO," Bougie said.
(On the Net: TexarkanaSymphony.org.)