Sameer Patel will conduct Fresno Philharmonic as first music director candidate

When Sameer Patel walks onto the stage of the Saroyan Theatre on Sunday, Oct. 2, to conduct the Fresno Philharmonic , he'll open a pivotal season devoted to an important endeavor: hiring the orchestra's next music director . Patel is the first of six finalists - five men, one woman - to visit Fresno for an extended job interview.