After Janna Hymes left as music director of the Carmel Symphony Orchestra just before the 2023-24 season in October, the company named David Commanday as the guest conductor for the season-opening concert.

He served two more stints as guest conductor before being named music director in December 2023. CSO Executive Director Anne Marie Chastain said negotiations were unsuccessful in bringing Commanday back for the 2024-25 season.

“It’s not that we wouldn’t ever work with him in the future, it’s just that this season didn’t work out,” Chastain said. “One of the things the board talked about when we went through the change last year is we did want to take the time to look through a variety of options for conductors. We still haven’t made a decision when we will launch a conductor search but we knew this coming season we wanted to bring in a few different conductors, so we can see what their styles are like and just expose the orchestra to a few different options.”

CSO will join Super Diamond, a tribute act devoted to Neil Diamond, in a season-opening concert at 7 p.m. Sept. 29 at the Palladium at the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel. CSO will then open the classical season with a tribute to Ludwig van Beethoven at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 5 at the Palladium. Damien Geter will serve as the conductor and three soloists from Indianapolis Opera will be featured.

“We’re very excited about the lineup we have,” Chastain said. “We have conductors who have experience all over the world coming to work with us and who are award winning.”

Chastain said the programming is diverse as well.

“We want the programs to really touch the souls of our audience and be that transformative musical and artistic experience we know that great art can provide,” Chastain said. “Art is a wonderful way for uniting people in the community and bringing people together.”

The “America the Beautiful” concert set for Nov. 16 will feature Antonin Dvorak’s “Symphony No. 9 From the New World.”

The “Family Pops: A Viennese Holiday” concert featuring romantic waltzes with sing-alongs is set for 2 p.m. Dec. 15, with a “Holiday in Vienna” set for 7 p.m.

Fly Dance Company’s “Breakin’ Classical: A Fusion of Dance and Symphony” is set for Jan. 25, 2025, with breakdancing accompanying the orchestra.

The “Moonlights and Lanterns” concert Feb. 8 will feature the music of Chinese festivals of the Lunar New Year. Other concerts include “Carmel Artist Showcase,” Feb. 23; “Appalachian Spring,” March. 16 and “Easter Parade,” April 19.

For more, visit carmelsymphony.org.