“ ‘And here I thought all you did was walk out in pretty shoes and tune the orchestra!’,” writes Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster Holly Mulcahy on Monday (4/10) at her blog Neoclassical. “That patron’s statement caught me by surprise…. It turns out many people don’t know much about what a concertmaster does! So, I’ve asked a few concertmaster friends from around the country to share some of their thoughts to help illustrate a more dynamic description of the job…. While there are no official job descriptions, there are many variations in how concertmasters lead.” Among concertmasters commenting are David Kim, concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Nurit Bar-Josef (National Symphony Orchestra), Frank Almond (Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra), Violetta Todorova (Fort Wayne Philharmonic), and Emmanuelle Boisvert, former concertmaster, Detroit Symphony Orchestra and associate concertmaster, Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Mulcahy writes that her own job “essentials” include helping the conductor in as many ways as possible, supporting colleagues, understanding the entire score (not just the violin part), attending fundraisers, representing the orchestra, and being part of the community.
Posted April 13, 2017
