The Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra (KSO) announced Oct. 19 that it will open a multi-year search for its next music director.

The news comes in light of the fact that current music director Julian Kuerti’s tenure will end when his contract expires on July 31, 2028.

The orchestra’s board of directors said the search is expected to take multiple years. An internal search committee with representatives from the board, orchestra and staff will be formed in the coming months, and it is expected to identify a successor over the next two years. The orchestra will mark Kuerti’s tenure over the next two seasons.

Kuerti began as music director during the 2018-19 season. Under his leadership, the KSO presented a symphonically staged production of Puccini’s “Tosca,” its first opera in nearly a decade, followed by a fully staged production of Bernstein’s “West Side Story.”

“I am grateful and humbled to have been trusted with this leadership, and I look forward to sharing my final two seasons with the musicians and you, the audience,” Kuerti said, per an official press release.