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The ASO is one in a long list of top priorities for conductor Donald Runnicles

If the age of specialization among conductors is indeed over, Donald Runnicles is living proof. Even in today’s era of jet-setting maestros, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s principal guest conductor keeps a schedule that is simply astonishing. While maintaining his positions as music director of both the San Francisco Opera and New York’s Orchestra of St. Luke’s, he also conducts regularly at the Bayreuth Festival, the Met and the Vienna Philharmonic and Staatsoper. He’s famed for pivotal performances of Wagner’s “Ring Cycle” all over the globe — and is equally sought-after for his Mozart interpretations. In his first full season with the ASO, he has conducted critically acclaimed performances of Mozart and Benjamin Britten’s “War Requiem,” and will finish his season with excerpts from Wagner’s “Die Walkütre.”

When asked how he does it all, Runnicles fields the question with humor.

“As a matter of fact, I do take extra vitamins,” he laughs. “But it’s not as difficult as it sounds. My prime responsibilities are in San Francisco, and Saint Luke’s takes four weeks out of the calendar — so it’s not too much at all.”

Born in Edinburgh, Runnicles lives in San Francisco with his wife, violist Elizabeth Runnicles (who may eventually join her husband for some musical projects here) and daughters Tamara, 6, and Ashley, 4. The 47-year-old maestro claims that this wide-ranging musical variety is not only the spice, but also a necessary ingredient, of his conducting life.

“It’s nurturing,” he says. “I’m a better operatic conductor because I do so much symphonic music, and I’m a better symphonic conductor because I do so much choral and operatic music. Being able to conduct Puccini makes me able to conduct Tchaikovsky better. That’s because it’s all based on vocal music — having a singing tone with a glorious line.”

This affinity for “the singing tone with the glorious line” is what first attracted Runnicles to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. “One reason I enjoy such a special relationship with the ASO is because the legacy of Robert Shaw is still alive and well,” he explains. “It’s through Shaw’s legacy that this orchestra has done so much vocal music. They have a delight in the vocal line, in phrasing like a fine singer — and they have immediately warmed up to my approach.”

Runnicles’ special mission is to continue, as he puts it, the tradition of great choral performances in Atlanta. And he hopes to program more concerts of operatic excerpts as well — some featuring the chorus. “People here are expecting more opera from me,” he says. “They’re thirsty for this.”

In keeping with the tradition of his post with the San Francisco Opera, Runnicles has a reputation for championing new composers, and he cites recent successes — such as Jake Heggie’s “Dead Man Walking” — as examples that new opera is alive and well.

“However, it’s important to remember that Atlanta is still a youngish city when it comes to contemporary repertoire,” he says. “One has to be careful how it is packaged and presented. But you must remember that Robert Shaw had an excellent record of performing contemporary works. He didn’t do just Verdi Requiems.”

Runnicles wants it known that he — along with ASO music director Robert Spano — plans to bring the orchestra into a more collaborative position with its newly appointed musical directors.

“We are anxious to extend a musical hand to the orchestra,” he says. “We want to make them feel that it’s a partnership, and not just dogmatic direction from above.”

Donald Runnicles conducts the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (performing the works of Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov) Thurs.-Sat., May 2-4. Marina Shaguch, soprano, and Judith Christin, mezzo-soprano, are featured. 8 p.m. $19-$48. 404-733-4800. www.atlantasymphony.org.??