When the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra was looking for a new music director to replace longtime maestro Kent Nagano last season, six musicians tried out for the job. But only one, 33-year-old Portuguese conductor Joana Carneiro, received an onstage hug from John Adams. “The wonderful thing about watching Joana rehearse is that she makes everyone feel comfortable, and she’s so totally in command of the score,” says Adams.

He should know: At Carneiro’s Berkeley tryout last December, she led a careening performance of the composer’s 1983 work for string orchestra, Shaker Loops. The musicians were equally taken with Carneiro, and in January, after three years as assistant conductor and American conducting fellow at the Los Angeles Philharmonic, she was given the job.

The passing of the baton comes with weighty expectations. Over 30-plus years, the Californiaborn Nagano, who has won several Grammys and now leads some of the world’s top orchestras, transformed the Berkeley Orchestra from a communitybased group into one of national repute.

Carneiro (above) is still in the early stages of her career, but she exhibits similar promise. “Joana showed me her ideas for her first season’s program, and I thought, ‘The future of music looks very bright indeed,’” says Esa-Pekka Salonen, the L.A. Phil’s renowned former music director, who worked with Carneiro. “It was clear to all of us at the orchestra that she was a major talent.”

Carneiro’s vision of the future combines the old with the new and places a particularly strong emphasis on music by contemporary Bay Area composers. Her October 15 inaugural concert features music by Berkeley residents Adams and Gabriela Lena Frank, respectively, as well as by Bartók. The season will also include works by Paul Dresher and local artists in the symphony’s composersin- residence program. “There are so many great composers living right here,” Carneiro says. “I want to find out what this community is about.”

A glimpse of her appointment book suggests she’s already well into the swing of Berkeley life. On a recent visit, Carneiro saw a production of Miss Julie at Aurora Theatre and ate a slice of raw tiramisu at Café Gratitude.