Indy’s new principal cello is … just 21
mainThe Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra has named three new players, of whom Austin Huntington is the most ey-catching.
A former child prodigy with a string of solo dates in his record, Austin starts work in the hot seat this season at an age when most of his contemporaries are still in college.
Story here.
As everyone knows, the job is about so much more than being brilliant on the cello. I surely hope that there will be generous souls within the institution who will take this highly talented young man under their wing and help him navigate the parts of the job that no one really tells you about in school – mainly, dealing with disparate (and often difficult personalities) and politics. Nevertheless, congrats are certainly due on this great achievement by yet another wunderkind!
I agree with what the above poster said. There have been a handful of major orchestral appointments involving very young players. Is this perhaps a grab for publicity? It’s a strange choice to bring a 21 year old into such an environment, regardless of how brilliant a player they may be.
It’s not strange at all. If you’ve got it, you’ve got it. Many ypung virtuosos have taken principal chairs over the years. On the dello alone, Leonard Rose and Lynn Harrell were both barely 20 when then took on the job. Both went on to distinguished solo careers later on.