 Some established conductors, including Lawrence Foster, Sergiu Comissiona, Zdeněk Mácal, and Stuart Challender, were considered along with lesser known names, such as Christopher Seaman, Richard Buckley, Vakhtang Jordania, Toshiyuki Shimada, and Carl St.Clair.Kord repeatedly said that despite his new titled position, he was not a candidate.The board had wanted a strong musician that would also be willing to spend significant time with the greater Orange County community.