Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra names Jinwoo Lee its new concertmaster
Jinwoo Lee will be the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra's new concertmaster, taking up that role when the 2023-'24 season begins.
He succeeds Frank Almond, who stepped down as concertmaster following the 2019-'20 season. Associate concertmaster Ilana Setapen has served as acting concertmaster since then. She will return to her prior role.
"The first chair violinist of an orchestra — known as the concertmaster — is a vital musical leader with widely ranging responsibilities, from tuning the orchestra to working closely with the conductor," Berklee College of Music wrote in defining the role. According to Berklee, traditional responsibilities of a concertmaster can include "dictating bowings to the first violin section; playing solo passages in the absence of a guest soloist; understanding the conductor's ideas and communicating them in technical terms to the rest of the orchestra; leading the orchestra in tuning before rehearsals and performances; and assisting with aspects of the orchestra's management."
Lee is the current first concertmaster of the Neue Philharmonie Westfalen in Germany. A native of South Korea, he has studied and performed in Europe, Asia and the United States. Lee earned bachelor and master's degrees from The Juilliard School, then completed his doctorate at the Manhattan School of Music. He has a long list of victories and prizes in musical competitions in Europe and the United States.
In a statement released by the MSO, music director Ken-David Masur said "what has impressed me the most, perhaps, is his great humility and curiosity in service to the music, a quality that both the MSO musicians and I share and respect deeply, and that I know will enrich our work together in this new artistic chapter.”
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra names Jinwoo Lee its new concertmaster
