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The conductor an orchestra chooses says a lot about how it sees its mission in the 21st century. Factors to consider include taste in repertoire, age, nationality, race, gender, fundraising skills -- and of course, musicianship.\nThe New York Philharmonic and the National Symphony Orchestras in Washington, DC are about to grapple with all of this as they look for successors to Alan Gilbert and Christoph Eschenbach, who are both leaving their music director jobs in 2017.\nThis week, we ask three industry watchers what are \u2013 or what should be\xa0\u2013 chief considerations for these orchestras as they begin their searches. Joining us are Zachary Woolfe, a freelance classical music critic for the New York Times;\xa0Anastasia Tsioulcas, who covers classical music for NPR Music; and Nick Matthias, a senior vice president at IMG Artists, who manages a number of top conductors.\nSegment Highlights\n\n\nChristoph Eschenbach leads the National Symphony Orchestra\n(Scott Suchman/NSO)\n\n\n\xa0For Matthias, "chemistry must be evident right from the word go, right from the point the conductor meets the orchestra in a rehearsal. Of course, no one has any control over the chemistry aspect at all. This is something very special. Once the conductor walks out on that podium, it's out of all of our hands."\nWoolfe emphasizes the importance of fundraising and outreach skills. "Especially with the New York Philharmonic," he said, "you're looking at the prospect of somebody who's going to have to be a key person in the raising of a substantial nine figures for the renovation of Avery Fisher Hall." That person must excite both the musicians and the board.\nSome observers have suggested that New York or Washington would benefit from a woman or minority conductor in order to better reflect their diverse communities. Tsioulcas notes that while women conductors have made particular strides among regional orchestras, "I'm not sure that anyone \u2013 aside from a couple very established [women] conductors\xa0\u2013 is established enough to pivot into such a prominent role as the New York Philharmonic. We may still be a decade or more away from that, I'm sorry to say."\nListen to the full segment at the top of this page, take our poll, and tell us in the comments below: What qualities do you think are most important in selecting a new music director?