The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra has appointed seven new musicians for the 2017-18 season: JULIANNE LEE, principal second violin; MADELINE SHARP, viola; ANTHONY GEORGESON, associate principal bassoon; SISSI YUQING ZHANG, violin; JOSEPH PETRASEK, principal percussion; MICHAEL STUBBART, percussion; and THOMAS CARPENTER, cello.
Julianne Lee joins the ASO as principal second violin from the Boston Symphony Orchestra, where she was assistant principal second violin. She has toured with the Marlboro Music Festival, as well with the Australian Chamber Orchestra as guest principal violist. Lee graduated with a first prize from the Conservatoire Supérieur de Paris in France. She holds a bachelor’s degree in violin and viola performance from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, and a master’s degree from the New England Conservatory.
After serving a one-year appointment with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Madeline Sharp officially joins the orchestra’s viola section this season. She was previously a member of the New World Symphony, and received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Juilliard School. She has performed with the Minnesota Orchestra, Houston Symphony, and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and has been a member of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music.
Previously principal bassoonist of the Florida Orchestra from 2007 to 2017, Anthony Georgeson has also been a member of the New World Symphony and acting principal bassoonist of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. Georgeson earned his master of music degree from the Juilliard School, and his bachelor of music degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
China native Sissi Yuqing Zhang received her bachelor and master of music degrees from the Juilliard School. Prior to her appointment with the ASO, she was pursuing her master of musical arts degree at Yale School of Music, where she served as concertmaster of Yale Philharmonia and Yale Opera. She is a founding member of the Hsin Trio, which was in the Juilliard Honors Chamber Music and made their debut recital in Alice Tully Hall, New York.
Joseph Petrasek most recently served as associate principal percussion of the Kansas City Symphony for eight seasons, and as a percussion fellow in the New World Symphony. The Southern California native earned his bachelor’s degree at University of California, Los Angeles and his master’s degree at Temple University.
Before joining the ASO, Michael Stubbart was acting principal percussion with the Hawai’i Symphony Orchestra in Honolulu for two seasons. Stubbart is a native of the metro Atlanta area and holds a bachelor’s degree from the Cleveland Institute. Additionally, he received his master’s degree from the Shepherd School at Rice University.
Previously a cellist with the New World Symphony, Thomas Carpenter completed his bachelor’s degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music and completed his master’s degree at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. The Virginia native traveled to Medellin, Colombia as part of a partnership with the New World Symphony and Universidad EAFIT, to teach students from Colombia and Chile.
Posted October 16, 2017
