Pittsburgh Symph names 7 new players
mainThe PSO have announced the winners of several months of auditions:
Max Blair, associate principal oboe, is a graduate of the Juilliard School and was a fellow with the New World Symphony in Florida for two seasons.
Joseph Campagna, bass, joined the Pittsburgh Symphony in May. He is a former member of the New Jersey Symphony (2011-2016) and a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.
Will Chow, cello, is a 2016 graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. This is his first professional orchestra position.
Jeffrey Dee, principal bass trombone, is a former member of the Buffalo Philharmonic (2007-2016) and the Jacksonville Symphony (2002-2007).
Victoria Luperi, associate principal clarinet, was principal clarinet with the Fort Worth Symphony from 2006 to 2016 and the Winnipeg Symphony from 2002 to 2006. She is the wife of Andrés Franco, assistant conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony.
Brandon McLean, associate principal bass, is the former principal bass (2015-2016) with the Colorado Symphony in Denver. He also served as associate principal bass with the Vancouver Symphony from 2013 to 2015, assistant principal bass with the Florida Orchestra from 2011 to 2013 and a fellow with the New World Symphony from 2008 to 2011.
Karissa Zadinsky, cello, is finishing her studies at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles. This is her first professional orchestra position.
Don’t they still need a new concertmaster? Their last one is now one of the Berlin Philharmonic’s concertmasters.
Indeed. Bendix-Balgley passed his trial and received tenure with the BerlinPhil in March I believe.
I may be mistaken but I think the PSO most recently had a concertmaster audition take place in late November/early December 2015. Whether anyone was selected, received a trial offer or not, I do not know. For their recent tour in Europe a month or two ago, the PSO was lead by Bendix-Balgley again (as guest concertmaster).
I’m wondering if Ms. Zadinsky is related to Arthur Zadinsky, long-time violinist with the Seattle Symphony? I know that he has a son who is a bass player.
“Karissa is from a very musical family. Arthur, her father, is a first violinist with the Seattle Symphony, her mother Debra is a violin and viola private studio teacher, coach, and performer. Her older brother Derek is a double bassist studying at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.”
http://carrabbaviolins.com/customer-profiles/2010/4/29/karissa-zadinsky.html
Ms. Zadinsky is indeed the daughter of Arthur Zadinsky and the sister of Derek Zadinsky, now a member of the Cleveland Orchestra and faculty member at Oberlin.