William Preucil
Robert Vernon
Concertmaster Blossom-Lee Endowed Chair The Cleveland Orchestra
Principal Viola Chaillé H. and Richard B. Tullis Endowed Chair The Cleveland Orchestra
William Preucil became concertmaster of The Cleveland Orchestra in April 1995 and has appeared frequently as a soloist with the Orchestra in concerto performances at Severance Hall and Blossom. Prior to joining The Cleveland Orchestra, Mr. Preucil served for seven seasons as first violinist of the Grammy-winning Cleveland Quartet, performing more than 100 concerts each year in the world’s major music capitals. He is actively involved as an educator, serving as Distinguished Professor of Violin at the Cleveland Institute of Music.
Robert Vernon has served as principal viola of The Cleveland Orchestra since 1976 and is the longest-tenured string principal in the Orchestra’s history. He has performed more than 4,500 concerts with the Orchestra and made more than 110 concert tours with The Cleveland Orchestra. A teacher as well as a performer, Mr. Vernon is a member of the faculty and co-chair of the viola department at the Cleveland Institute of Music. For the past seven years, he has also served as a member of the viola faculty at New York’s Juilliard School.
Eli Matthews
Richard Weiss
First Assistant Principal Second Violin Patricia M. Kozerefski and Richard J. Bogomolny Endowed Chair The Cleveland Orchestra
First Assistant Principal Cello The GAR Foundation Endowed Chair The Cleveland Orchestra
Eli Matthews joined the first violin section of The Cleveland Orchestra in 1997. He became first assistant principal second violin in 2008. Before coming to Cleveland, he performed in the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. He frequently participates in a variety of The Cleveland Orchestra’s education and community programs. Mr. Matthews studied with Dorothy DeLay at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
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Richard Weiss joined the cello section of The Cleveland Orchestra in 1974 and became first assistant principal cello in 1977. He served as acting principal for the 2009-10 season. He has appeared as a soloist with the Orchestra on many occasions. Mr. Weiss is a member of the Cleveland Orchestra Piano Trio, which performs both locally and on tour. He teaches at the Cleveland Institute of Music and the annual Kent/Blossom Music Festival, and also serves as coach with the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra.
July 16: Solo Quartet
2016 Blossom Festival