orchestra news
THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA
.W.E.L.C.O.M.E. New principal viola and assistant concertmaster join Orchestra The Cleveland Orchestra welcomes violist Wesley Collins, whose appointment as principal viola was announced in June. He joined the Orchestra with the start of the 2016-17 season, and now holds the Orchestra’s Chaillé H. and Richard B. Tullis Principal Viola Endowed Chair. He fills the vacancy created from the retirement in August of principal viola Robert Vernon, who was Collins’s teacher at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Prior to coming to Cleveland, Wesley Collins had been a member of the viola section of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which he joined in 2012 and then was promoted to third chair viola in 2014. He had previously played as a member of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, 2008-12. Collins completed his bachelor of music degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music in 2007. While a student in Cleveland, he played as a substitute with The Cleveland Orchestra, and also performed in the Canton Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Chamber Symphony, and CityMusic Cleveland, and was assistant principal viola with the Akron Symphony Orchestra. His summer activities have included the Tanglewood Music Center, Sarasota Music Festival, Encore School for Strings, and the Pacific Music Festival. Born and raised in Cincinnati, Wesley Collins began studying violin with his mother, Sandy Collins, at the age of four. He also played trumpet under the instruction of his father, Philip Collins, former principal trumpet of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. He later switched to viola under the guidance and inspiration of Michael Klotz, violist of the Amernet String Quartet.
With the start of the 2016-17 season, The Cleveland Orchestra welcomes violinist Jessica Lee as assistant concertmaster. She holds the Orchestra’s Clara G. and George P. Bickford Assistant Concertmaster Endowed Chair. She fills the vacancy from Yoko Moore’s retirement at the end of last season. Jessica Lee was the Grand Prize Winner of the 2005 Concert Artists Guild International Competition and has appeared as a soloist and in recital around the the world, including with the Malaysia Festival Orchestra for the gala birthday celebration of the Sultan of Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur, as well as performances with the Houston Symphony and other U.S. orchestras, and in recital in New York City, in Washington D.C., and at the Caramoor Festival. Her summer appearances have included performances at the Bridgehampton, Santa Fe, Music@Menlo, Lake Champlain, and Olympic music festivals. As a chamber musician, Lee was a longtime member of the Johannes String Quartet and played as a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Two. She has toured with Musicians from Marlboro and is a member of the conductor-less string ensemble ECCO (East Coast Chamber Orchestra). A native of Virginia, Jessica Lee began playing the violin at age three. Following studies with Weigang Li of the Shanghai Quartet, she was accepted to the Curtis Institute of Music at age 14 and earned a bachelor’s degree under the tutelage of Robert Mann and Ida Kavafian. She completed her studies with Robert Mann for a master of music degree at the Juilliard School.
Comings and goings
Silence is golden
As a courtesy to the performers onstage and the entire audience, latearriving patrons cannot be seated until the first break in the musical program.
As a courtesy to the performers onstage and the audience around you, patrons are reminded to turn off cell phones and to disengage electronic alarms prior to the concert.
Severance Hall 2016-17
Cleveland Orchestra News
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