American violinist EOIN ANDERSEN has been named to one of the two concertmaster positions at Australia’s Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. The MSO has also announced a three-year extension of its contract with Associate Conductor BENJAMIN NORTHEY.
Andersen will assume his concertmaster duties in 2015, filling the post left vacant by current Concertmaster WILMA SMITH, who is retiring at the end of 2014. Andersen will share responsibilities with DALE BARLTROP, who takes up his concertmaster position with the MSO in June 2014. Andersen has been principal second violin with the Orchester der Oper Zürich since 2011. He is a former member of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Lucerne Festival Orchestra; has served as concertmaster or guest principal with such organizations as the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic, and Rundfunk Symphonieorchester Berlin; and has performed widely at chamber music festivals on both sides of the Atlantic. Andersen will divide his time between Melbourne and his home in Berlin.
Northey, a native of Brisbane, Australia, has been reappointed to the MSO’s Patricia Riordan Associate Conductor Chair. He was also recently named chief conductor of New Zealand’s Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, effective in 2015. Northey has been a regular guest conductor at Opera Australia and at numerous Australian orchestras, and has appeared with the London Philharmonic, Tokyo Philharmonic, Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, Malaysian Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia, New Zealand Symphony, and Auckland Philharmonic.
Posted June 3, 2014
