Molly Norcross is the new principal horn of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
Just when you thought you knew most of the new musicians in the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the orchestra under the direction of Music Director Cristian Măcelaru has announced nine more new hires. They’ve also announced the appointment of Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra’s (CSYO) new Concert Orchestra Conductor, and two conducting contract extensions for the 2026–27 season.
The musicians won positions following extensive auditions from a national applicant pool.
The new players are: Molly Norcross, Principal Horn; Mark Debski, Associate Principal Oboe; Drew Morgan, Associate Principal Horn; Ania Lewis, Assistant Principal Cello; Jessica Kovach, Section Bass; and Alex Pride, Section Trumpet. One-year appointments include Celia Daggy, Acting Associate Principal Viola and Micah Reinharz, Acting Associate Principal Trumpet.
Also joining the Orchestra this year is cellist Osheen Manukyan as the CSO’s inaugural CSO Resident Fellow. Leading the Cincinnati Symphony
Youth Orchestra Concert Orchestra is Lina Jeong, who is currently orchestra director at Xavier University.
In addition, the CSO announced a one-year contract extension with CSO Assistant Conductor Duo Shen, and Assistant Conductor Alex Amsel has been promoted to Associate Conductor with a one-year contract extension.
Kristiina Poska made her CSO debut this weekend at Music hall. Photos are by JP Leong.
It’s no longer a rarity to see an accomplished woman conductor on the podium of a major orchestra. This season, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is among those orchestras leading the way, with four presented this season, including the legendary Dame Jane Glover. But it’s not surprising either, to read about guest conductor Kristiina Poska, who made her CSO debut on April 17, and discover that she is the first woman to be appointed to several of her conducting posts around the globe. She is among a rising generation of talented women making strides, and someone to watch.
Lise de la Salle returned to perform Chopin with the orchestra
Poska, a native of Estonia, made an impression in an engaging program for a spring morning at Music Hall. She opened with “Underneath the Sheen” by Julia Adolphe, a gifted composer who is known to Cincinnati audiences, notably for her 2023 May Festival co-commission, “Crown of Hummingbirds.” The first half included Chopin’s Concerto No. 2 in F Minor featuring French pianist Lise de la Salle. Poska concluded the morning with a heartwarming reading of Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 3, known as the “Scottish.”
Like many rising conductors, Poska holds several positions. She is chief conductor of the Flanders Symphony Orchestra and principal guest conductor of the Latvian Symphony Orchestra. She is also music director of the Orchestre Français des Jeunes, and in opera, she debuts this season at the Opéra de Dijon, France.
Mendelssohn was inspired to write his “Scottish” Symphony more than a decade after his travels to England, Italy and France around 1930. It has no specific program, but clearly evokes Scotland’s landscapes and folk music. He dedicated it to Queen Victoria.
Poska was an assured leader in the orchestra’s richly detailed performance. The opening, with its recitative-like phrases for the violins, was somber and expressive, and the string sound was sumptuous. The listener could enjoy Mendelssohn’s serene lyrical themes, expertly set against moments of agitated intensity.Read More »
Vincent Dubois, titular organist of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris
Hundreds of aficionados of organ music — as well as admirers of the stunning Art Deco Rotunda in Cincinnati Museum Center — braved a dark and stormy night on Oct. 29 to attend the opening concert of the Music in the Museum series. The excellent organist Vincent Dubois, now titular organist of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, performed a substantial program on the great E.M. Skinner concert organ built in 1929, the year Union Terminal began construction.
The organ is designed in the American Symphonic Organ tradition, able to produce every tone of a symphonic orchestra, and then some. Cincinnati’s E.M. Skinner organ is one of the treasures of the United States.
At one moment, Dubois paused to thank those who have supported the organ, saying, “It’s rare to find this quality of voicing… I enjoyed discovering so many colors and textures. It’s infinite in that instrument.”
Besides his Paris post, Dubois is newly appointed Professor of organ interpretation and improvisation at the Hochschule für Musik (University of Music) in Saarbrücken, Germany. His wide-ranging selections included many by French composers, some rarely heard, which were a treat to hear.
Dubois opened with J.S. Bach’s Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 582. His sound was instantly enthralling, from the deep tones of the repeating bass line (or ground bass) to the wonderful embellishments that unfolded above it. The music in the highest register had a spiritual quality, and you could see that the organist felt every note. The concluding fugue was majestic, and he held its final note at length, allowing the sound to continue ringing in the resonant acoustic of the Rotunda.
Dubois with Kelly Hale conducting behind the organ, and page turner Bert Nelson.
Dubois called upon two collaborators for the next three works: Russell Burge, CCM Professor of Percussion, and Kelly Hale, Professor Emeritus of Opera and Coaching, who conducted the spacially separated duo.
Percussionist Russell Burge was situated against the Rotunda wall, the clearest acoustical spot for the collaboration.
Jean-Philippe Rameau was represented by the dance, “Les sauvages” from Rameau’s 1735 opera-ballet, “Les Indes galantes,” accompanied by marvelous drumming by Burge. The work was inspired by a visit to France by Indigenous American chiefs in 1725.
Dubois then fast-forwarded to 20th-century France with three movements from Francis Poulenc‘s “Suite française,” originally an orchestral suite from his incidental music to a play, “La Reine Margot.” Typical of Poulenc, there were dissonances and witty dialogues between organ and snare drum. The colors of the organ ranged from warm to reedy.
One of the world’s finest young string quartets is right here in Cincinnati. On Aug. 31, the Poiesis String Quartet, graduate string quartet-in-residence at the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, won the Grand Prize in the prestigious 15th Banff International String Quartet Competition. The prize includes $500,000 CAD in cash, prizes, and career development opportunities, including touring and recording and three-year custom artistic and career development program.
The quartet is currently being mentored at CCM by the Ariel Quartet. Its members are: Sarah Ying Ma on violin, Max Ball on violin, Jasper de Boor on viola, and Drew Dansby on cello. They are graduates of Oberlin College & Conservatory.
Nine international string quartets competed this year, in what is described as “one of the most competitive in the competition’s four-decade history.” The competition reports that competitors travelled to Banff from their home bases in Asia, Europe, and North America, with players hailing from 14 different countries.
The name Poiesis derives from ancient Greek and means “to make.” The ensemble focuses on expanding the quartet repertoire with new works by emerging composers.
Competition jury members include Marie Chilemme, Jonathan Crow, Eugene Drucker, Honggang Li, Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, Eckart Runge, and David Ying.
The quartet will present their fall recital at 6:45 p.m. Oct. 2 in Werner Recital Hall. Free.
Claire Huangci will step in to perform the season opener for Matinee Musicale/ photo by Mateusz Zahora
Matinée Musicale has just announced that the Japanese pianist Manami Suzuki will not be able to perform in Cincinnati on Sunday, September 7th due to visa issues. Instead, American pianist Claire Huangci has agreed to perform this concert to kick off Matinee Musicale’s 112th season. The series takes place in Memorial Hall.
Huangci performed for
Matinée in 2015 and 2017 and she has gone on to enjoy an impressive international performance career. Her program includes Beethoven’s Sonata Op. 27, No. 2, “Moonlight,” Ravel’s “La Valse,” Florence Price’s “Fantasie Nègre” No. 2 in G minor, and lots of Gershwin, include Earl Wild’s Gershwin-inspired Virtuoso Etudes.
It was to have been Suzuki’s U.S. debut, and the organization hopes to be able to present her next season.
Cincinnati Ballet announced a new music director via social media today. Alyssa Wang will succeed music director emeritus Carmon DeLeone, who served more than 50 years and still conducts the ballet on occasion. She is a “triple threat” — a conductor, composer and violinist. Alyssa is the recipient of the 2024 New Music USA Creator Fund, the 2023 Solti Foundation Career Assistance Award, and the 2022 St. Botolph Emerging Artist Award.
An accomplished violinist, she is the newest member musician of the Boston Chamber Music Society, and has been featured in numerous contemporary recording projects, such as Carlos Simon’s Grammy-nominated album, Requiem for the Enslaved (Decca).
As a composer, she premiered her own violin concerto, Swept Away, with the Chamber Orchestra of Pittsburgh, who commissioned the work, in February 2023. Her latest composition project is a string octet for Boston Chamber Music Society that will premiere in May 2026.
Alyssa earned her bachelor’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University under the tutelage of Andrés Cárdenes, and a master’s degree at the New England Conservatory where she studied with Malcolm Lowe. Read more here.
Jose Maria Condemi
The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music welcomed two new faculty members to succeed two of the eight who are retiring by the end of this semester.
UC College-Conservatory of Music Dean Pete Jutras has just announced the appointment of JoseMariaCondemi, who earned his Master of Fine Arts degree in direction at CCM, as CCM’s new Associate Professor of Opera. His faculty appointment officially begins on Aug. 15.
“Jose Maria Condemi brings inspiring creative vision to CCM, along with a long and distinguished record of directing at the worlds’ major opera houses. He is no stranger to Cincinnati, and we are thrilled to welcome him to the CCM Opera Department,” said Jutras, in a statement. “I am grateful to our search committee chair Amy Johnson and committee members ThomasHase, KirillKuzmin and KennethShaw for their efforts with this successful search.”
Condemi has been a director and producer of opera and theater of exceptional artistic quality for over two decades, both in the United States and internationally. Upcoming directing engagements include Rigoletto for San Francisco Opera, Tosca for Cincinnati Opera and Alcina for the Trentino Music Festival.
In Cincinnati, you may also recall his work in Ainadamar, Don Giovanni, La Traviata, Tosca and Lucia di Lammermoor for Cincinnati Opera.
He has a long relationship with San Francisco Opera, where he has directed several mainstage productions and two world premieres, and he’s directed at other major opera houses across the country and internationally. Please click here to read more about him.
Brian Hong
In addition, violist Brian Hong is CCM’s new Assistant Professor of Viola. His appointment begins on Aug. 15.
“Brian Hong’s extensive performance experience, chamber music career, and innovative work in the non-profit and community arts sectors will bring great value to CCM’s esteemed String area,” said Dean Jutras. “I am grateful to our search committee chair Rachel Calin and committee members Aik Khai Pung and Catharine Lees for their efforts with this successful search.”
As the violist of the Grammy-nominated Aizuri Quartet from 2023-2025, he premiered major new works on nationally renowned chamber music series and conducted residencies at universities across the United States. He has performed as soloist with many orchestras and has participated in festivals such as Marlboro and the Perlman Music Program. Prior to his CCM appointment, Hong served on the viola and chamber music faculties at Bard College Conservatory of Music.
Hong is a graduate of Juilliard’s Artist Diploma program. He also holds a master’s degree from the Juilliard School, where he was awarded a prestigious Kovner Fellowship. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the New England Conservatory of Music. He’s also a successful music administrator. He is the program manager for the Vital Sounds Initiative of Project: Music Heals Us, a nonprofit dedicated to providing musical education, access and healing to marginalized populations. He is also a co-artistic director of NEXUS Chamber Music Chicago in Illinois, an artist-driven collective of musicians. Read more about him here.
BSO principal bassist Ed Barker performs the Koussevitzky Double Bass Concerto on Koussevitzky’s own bass, with Andris Nelsons conducting. (Photo by Hilary Scott provided by the Boston Symphony Orchestra)
I was surprised to learn during my visit last weekend to the TanglewoodFestival, celebrating the 150th birthday of Serge Koussevitzky this summer, that the legendary conductor almost came to Cincinnati.
The distinguished music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1924 to 1949, Koussevitzky was also a composer, a virtuoso of the double bass, champion of new music and influential mentor of dozens of conductors and composers, including Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland. In a panel discussion I attended at Tanglewood, he was credited with literally rediscovering American classical music.
But before 1924, the Russian-born conductor was considering posts at the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Perhaps his fate was sealed years earlier when Koussevitzky’s onetime teacher and former BSO music director Arthur Nikisch told him that he would oneday be music director of the BSO. (No worries: Cincinnati ended up with Fritz Reiner in 1924 instead.)
The Tanglewood Festival, summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops in Lenox, MA, in the beautiful Berkshires, is a magical place. It has long been on my bucket list. This year, the festival welcomed critics and music journalists for the annual meeting of the Music Critics Association of North America. Our schedule included BSO concerts conducted by music director Andris Nelsons, panel discussions and a terrific Festival of Contemporary Music, curated by composers Steven Mackey and the Cuban-American Pulitzer Prize winning composer Tania León. Read More »
Louis Langrée is shown with soloist Inon Barnatan, the May Festival Chorus and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in a 2020 performance of Beethoven’s Akademie 1808 concert in Music Hall/AJ Waltz, photo
The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra has just announced that music director Louis Langrée has withdrawn from CSO subscription and special programs on May 3 & 4 due to an injury.
CSO Associate Conductor Samuel Lee, recent winner of the 2024 Malko Competition, will conduct the May 3 & 4 CSO subscription concert, Beethoven Symphony No. 7 & Dessner Premieres, which includes the U.S. premiere of Bryce Dessner’s Piano Concerto with Alice Sara Ott.
CSO Assistant Conductor Daniel Wiley will conduct the May 3 CSO special program, WIRES, featuring Bryce Dessner and his Concerto for Two Pianos with internationally acclaimed piano duo and sisters Katia and Marielle Labèque. You may recall that Wiley stepped in on about a day’s notice to lead concerts last weekend. Here is the review.
Langrée is concluding his 11-year tenure this month. He is to lead his final concerts as CSO music director on May 10-11 in Music Hall.
The Ariel Quartet with clarinetist Pavel Vinnitsky on Tuesday at the Skirball Museum in Clifton.
Maybe you’ve seen brief mentions of the Jewish Music Festival, with musical performances, lectures and sometimes art exhibitions taking place throughout the area. The festival is brand new, and organized by Aik Khai Pung, associate professor at CCM, where he is music director of the CCM Concert Orchestra. I noticed in an online listing that the Ariel String Quartet was playing last night at Hebrew Union College, and by luck, I was able to go.
The concert, which was co-presented by concert:nova and the Cincinnati Cultural Exchange, was held in Mayerson Auditorium in the Skirball Museum on the HUC campus. Curator Abby Schwartz provided commentary about the art by Jewish artists that surrounded us, and the paintings’ relationships to the music.
The musical artists for this program were sensational. The Ariel Quartet, quartet-in-residence at CCM, opened with Lera Auerbach’s “Frozen Dreams” and “Cetera Desunt” for string quartet. Both works were a revelation. “Frozen Dreams” was haunting and deeply personal. Auerbach’s music is simply astonishing; it is both searing and lyrical. In “Cetera Desunt” Auerbach took her cue from Shostakovich, and the listener could detect the repeating motive signifying Shostakovich’s signature. The superb performers — violinists Alexandra Kazovsky and Gershon Gerchikov, Jan Grüning, viola, and Amit-Even-Tov, cello — soared through this treacherous score with exciting precision and passion. In the frenzied passages, they dug into their strings with bows flying. I plan to try to hear more of Auerbach’s music.
Vinnitsky was serenaded with “happy birthday” after the performance.
They joined with clarinetist Pavel Vinnitsky for Osvaldo Golijov’s “The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind.” It is named for a blind, mystical rabbi who lived centuries ago, but is also a tribute to Golijov’s great-grandfather. This piece blends liturgical prayers in its outer movements with raucous Klezmer music. There could not have been a better champion for both styles than Vinnitsky, who wailed and almost danced in his seat as he performed Golijov’s riveting music, using three different clarinets.
Vinnitsky joined CCM’s clarinet faculty about two years ago. He and the Ariel Quartet will perform the Brahms Clarinet Quintet on March 26 at CCM, 7:30 p.m. in Werner Recital Hall. It’s not-to-be missed!
The Jewish Foundation is sponsor of the inaugural festival, a total of nine concerts and events. Other participants have included the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, composer Anna Vinnitsky, saxophonist Rick VanMatre and others.
Cincinnati Pops is streaming two of their popular holiday shows — 7:30 p.m. Saturday Dec. 9 and 2 p.m. Sunday Dec. 10. You’ll find them here, or on the CSO/Pops YouTube channel.
Led by John Morris Russell, Holiday Pops is always an entertaining potpourri of festive music performed by a host of choruses, vocalists, dancers and handbell ringers. This year, vocalists Capathia Jenkins and Rafael Moras are headliners. They’re joined by the May Festival Chorus, SCPA Chorale, Sycamore High School Select Ensemble, Winton Woods High School Varsity Ensemble, Q-Kidz Dance Team, Studio for Dance, and handbell ringers from the Cincinnati Collaborative Ringing Project.
