Malcolm Lowe joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra as concertmaster in 1984, becoming the tenth concertmaster in the orchestra's history and only its third since 1920. As concertmaster, he also performs with the Boston Symphony Chamber Players. Mr. Lowe is equally at home as an orchestral player, chamber musician, solo recitalist, and teacher. He appears frequently as a soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Symphony Hall and Tanglewood and he has returned many times to his native Canada for guest appearances as a soloist with the Toronto and Montreal Symphony Orchestras and the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa.

Mr. Lowe is a faculty member at the Tanglewood Music Center, New England Conservatory, and Boston University. Prior to his Boston appointment, he was concertmaster of the Quebec Symphony Orchestra. The recipient of many awards, he was one of the top laureate winners in the 1979 Montreal International Violin Competition. Born to musical parents - his father was a violinist and his mother a vocalist - on a farm in Hamiota, Manitoba, Mr. Lowe moved with his family to Regina, Saskatchewan at the age of nine. There he studied at the Regina Conservatory of Music with Howard Leyton-Brown, former concertmaster of the London Philharmonic. He later studied with Ivan Galamian at the Meadowmount School of Music and at the Curtis Institute of Music. Mr. Lowe also studied violin with Sally Thomas and Jaime Laredo and was greatly influenced by Josef Gingold, Felix Galimir, Alexander Schneider, and Jascha Brodsky.

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Haldan Martinson made his solo debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1990 and made his national television debut in 1988 performing on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show. Mr. Martinson has soloed with many other orchestras, including the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony Orchestra, the Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra and the Yale Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Martinson is the recipient of numerous prizes, scholarships, and awards including the Spotlight Award of the Los Angeles Music Center. He has participated in the chamber music festivals of Ravinia, Taos, Santa Fe, and La Jolla. From 1996 to 1998 he was a member of the Metamorphosen Chamber Ensemble.

Mr. Martinson graduated with a B.A. in Music from Yale College (1994), where he was awarded the Louis Sudler Prize, one of the most prestigious awards granted by the university. He was concertmaster of the Yale Symphony Orchestra from 1991 to 1994. Mr. Martinson received a Master of Music degree from New England Conservatory (1997). His former teachers have included Robert Lipsett, Endré Granat, David Nadien, Aaron Rosand, and James Buswell.

Mr. Martinson is also a prize-winning composer whose works for string ensemble have been featured frequently in concert. One of Mr. Martinson's works, Dance of the Trolls for string orchestra, was commissioned by the Crossroads Chamber Orchestra in 1988 and has been performed throughout Southern California.

As principal second violin of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Mr. Martinson is also a member of the Boston Symphony Chamber Players. He joined the orchestra as a section violinist in November 1998 and was appointed to his current position in the summer of 2000. From 1998-2002 he was a member of the critically acclaimed Hawthorne String Quartet.

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Steven Ansell joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra as principal viola in September 1996, occupying the Charles S. Dana chair, having already appeared with the BSO in Symphony Hall as guest principal viola. A native of Seattle, he also remains a member of the acclaimed Muir String Quartet, which he co-founded in 1979, and with which he has toured extensively throughout the world. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Michael Tree and Karen Tuttle, Mr. Ansell was named professor of viola at the University of Houston at twenty-one and became assistant principal viola of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra under André Previn at twenty-three. As a recording artist he has received two Grand Prix du Disque awards and a Gramophone magazine award for Best Chamber Music Recording of the Year. He has appeared on PBS's "In Performance at the White House," has participated in the Tanglewood, Marlboro, Schleswig-Holstein, Newport, Blossom, Spoleto, and Snowbird music festivals, and premiered Ezra Laderman's Concerto for Viola and Orchestra with the Berkshires Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Ansell teaches at the Boston University College of Fine Arts. As principal viola of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, he is also a member of the Boston Symphony Chamber Players.  

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BSO principal bass Edwin Barker has concertized in North America, Europe, and the Far East. He has performed and recorded with the BSO, the Boston Symphony Chamber Players, and the contemporary music ensemble Collage, and is a frequent guest performer with the Boston Chamber Music Society. Mr. Barker gave the world premieres of James Yannatos' Concerto for Contrabass and Chamber Orchestra (which was written especially for him) and of Theodore Antoniou's Concertino for Contrabass and Chamber Orchestra; he was the featured soloist in the New England premiere of Gunther Schuller's Concerto for Double Bass and Chamber Orchestra. Mr. Barker graduated with honors in 1976 from the New England Conservatory, where he studied double bass with Henry Portnoi. That same year, at age twenty-two, while a member of the Chicago Symphony, he was appointed principal double bass of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. His other double bass teachers included Peter Mercurio, Richard Stephan, Angelo LaMariana, and David Perleman. Mr. Barker inaugurated the BSO's 100th Anniversary Season with performances of Koussevitzky's Bass Concerto; other solo engagements have included appearances at Seiji Ozawa Hall, Carnegie Recital Hall, and major universities and conferences throughout the world, as well as concerto performances with the Boston Classical Orchestra and the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Boston and Europe. In July 1995 he was chosen by the late Sir Georg Solti to lead the bass section of the United Nations' "Musicians of the World," an orchestra made up of prominent musicians from the world's finest orchestras. Mr. Barker is an associate professor at the Boston University College of Fine Arts, where he teaches double bass, orchestral techniques, and chamber music. His other major teaching affiliations include the BSO's Tanglewood Music Center, where he is Chairman of Instrumental and Orchestral Studies, and the National Orchestral Institute at the University of Maryland. His solo CDs include "Three Sonatas for Double Bass"; James Yannatos' Variations for Solo Contrabass, and the recently released "Concerti for Double Bass," which includes concertos by Gunther Schuller and Theodore Antoniou.

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BSO principal flutist Elizabeth Rowe joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 2004 and holds the Walter Piston Principal Flute Chair. Prior to joining the BSO, she held titled positions with the orchestras of Fort Wayne, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. Regularly featured in front of the orchestra, Ms. Rowe has been soloist with the BSO in Ligeti’s Double Concerto for flute and oboe with conductor Christoph von Dohnányi and BSO principal oboe John Ferrillo (a collaboration to be repeated in the closing concerts of the BSO’s 2019-20 subscription season); the American premiere of Elliott Carter’s Flute Concerto; Mozart’s G major flute concerto, K.313 (with which she made her first BSO appearance as a concerto soloist); Mozart’s C major concerto for flute and harp with BSO principal harpist Jessica Zhou (including a performance on tour with the orchestra in Tokyo); Gabriela Lena Frank’s Illapa, Tone Poem for Flute and Orchestra; Frank Martin’s Concerto for Seven Wind Instruments, Timpani, Percussion, and Strings; Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 2 and 5; and Leonard Bernstein’s Ḥalil (in the BSO’s Opening Night all-Bernstein program under Andris Nelsons in September 2017 and at Tanglewood in July 2018 under Herbert Blomstedt). Noted for her insightful teaching, Ms. Rowe attracts flute students from around the country to her lessons and master classes. She works regularly with students at the New England Conservatory and the Tanglewood Music Center and is a frequent guest artist at the New World Symphony. She previously taught at the Peabody Conservatory of Music and University of Maryland. As a member of the Boston Symphony Chamber Players, she can be heard in a wide variety of chamber works throughout the season at NEC’s Jordan Hall and in several recordings. Elizabeth Rowe grew up in Eugene, Oregon. She received her bachelor of music degree from the University of Southern California, where she was a Trustee Scholar and a student of Jim Walker, former principal flute of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Ms. Rowe’s connection to the Boston Symphony Orchestra dates back to the summer of 1996, when she was a Tanglewood Music Center Fellow and performed as principal flute under Seiji Ozawa’s direction in the TMC production of Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes that marked the fiftieth anniversary of the opera’s 1946 American premiere at Tanglewood. For more information, please visit iamelizabethrowe.com.

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John Ferrillo joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra as principal oboe at the start of the 2001 Tanglewood season, occupying the Mildred B. Remis Principal Oboe Chair, having appeared with the orchestra several times in previous seasons as a guest performer. From 1986 to 2001 he was principal oboe of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. Mr. Ferrillo grew up in Bedford, Massachusetts, and played in the Greater Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra. He is a graduate of the Curtis Institute, where he studied with John de Lancie and received his diploma and artist’s certificate. He also studied with John Mack at the Blossom Festival and has participated in the Marlboro, Craftsbury, and Monadnock festivals. Prior to his appointment at the Metropolitan Opera, Mr. Ferrillo was second oboe of the San Francisco Symphony, and was a faculty member at Illinois State University and West Virginia State University. A former faculty member of the Mannes School of Music and Juilliard School of Music in New York City, he has taught and performed at the Aspen and Waterloo festivals and currently serves on the faculties of the New England Conservatory, Boston University, and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. His previous BSO appearances as soloist have included Ligeti’s Double Concerto for flute and oboe, with BSO colleague Elizabeth Rowe, which they will perform again on the final subscription concerts of the current season; Frank Martin’s Concerto for Seven Winds, Timpani, Percussion, and Strings, also with BSO colleagues; Richard Strauss’s Oboe Concerto; two collaborations with violinist Pinchas Zukerman at Tanglewood in music of J.S. Bach; Wayne Barlow’s The Winter’s Past, led by Leonard Slatkin in a 2014 Tanglewood program celebrating the conductor’s 70th birthday; Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante in E-flat for oboe, clarinet, horn, and bassoon, K.297b, with BSO colleagues on the opening program of the 2014-15 season; and, most recently, in May 2018, Marcello’s Concerto in C minor for oboe and strings with Moritz Gnann conducting. As principal oboe of the BSO, Mr. Ferrillo is also a faculty member at the Tanglewood Music Center and a member of the Boston Symphony Chamber Players, with whom he can be heard in BSO Classics recordings of Mozart’s Quartet in F for oboe and strings, K.370; William Bolcom’s Serenata Notturna for oboe and strings, and Dutilleux’s Les Citations for oboe, harpsichord, double bass, and percussion. 

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William R. Hudgins was appointed principal clarinetist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra by Seiji Ozawa in 1994, occupying the Ann S.M. Banks chair, having joined the orchestra two years earlier. He has been heard as a soloist with the BSO on numerous occasions, including performances of Mozart's Clarinet Concerto, Copland's Clarinet Concerto, Bruch's Double Concerto for Clarinet and Viola, Frank Martin's Concerto for Seven Winds, Timpani, Percussion, and String Orchestra, and, for the opening of the BSO's 2014-15 season, Mozart's Sinfonia concertante in E-flat, K.297b. As a member of the Boston Symphony Chamber Players, he can be heard on their BSO Classics CDs of Brahms and Dvořák serenades (the ensemble's most recent release); the Grammy-nominated "Profanes et Sacrées: 20th-Century French Chamber Music"; "Plain Song, Fantastic Dances" (in music of Gandolfi, Foss, and Golijov), and the Grammy-nominated "Mozart Chamber Music for Strings and Winds" (in Mozart's Quintet for Clarinet and Strings, K.581), as well as a Grammy-nominated Arabesque recording of Hindemith's Quartet for Clarinet, Violin, Cello, and Piano. Recent appearances outside of the Boston Symphony Orchestra include orchestral performances and recordings with the Saito Kinen Orchestra in Matsumoto, Japan, and the Mito Chamber Orchestra in Mito, Japan, both under the direction of Seiji Ozawa; chamber music at the Rockport Chamber Music Festival, and recitals and master classes at various universities and around the United States. Before joining the BSO, Mr. Hudgins served as principal clarinetist and soloist with the Orquesta Sinfonica Municipal in Caracas, Venezuela, and the Charleston Symphony Orchestra in South Carolina. He was heard for six seasons as a member of both the Spoleto Festival Orchestra in Charleston, South Carolina, and Il Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy. He also participated as a Fellow of the Tanglewood Music Center, where he won the C.D. Jackson Award for outstanding performance. Mr. Hudgins received his bachelor's degree from the Boston University School for the Arts, studying with former BSO principal clarinetist Harold Wright.

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Richard Svoboda has been principal bassoon of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and a member of the Boston Symphony Chamber Players since 1989; as the BSO’s principal bassoon he occupies the Edward A. Taft Chair. An active chamber music collaborator, orchestral soloist, and recitalist, he is currently on the faculties of the New England Conservatory, the Tanglewood Music Center, and the Sarasota Music Festival, and has given master classes throughout the world. Prior to his BSO appointment he was principal bassoon of the Jacksonville Symphony for ten seasons. Mr. Svoboda’s solo appearances with the Boston Symphony Orchestra have included John Williams’s bassoon concerto Five Sacred Trees with the composer conducting and Weber’s Concerto for Bassoon with Seiji Ozawa. He made his first solo appearance with the BSO in April 1991, in Haydn’s B-flat Concertante for violin, cello, oboe, and bassoon; played the world premiere of Marc Neikrug’s BSO-commissioned Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra in 2013 with Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos conducting; has appeared with the orchestra on two occasions in Martin’s Concerto for Seven Wind Instruments, Timpani, Percussion, and Strings, under Seiji Ozawa and Charles Dutoit; and made his most recent solo appearance with the BSO in September 2014, with Marcelo Lehninger conducting, in Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante in E-flat for oboe, clarinet, horn, and bassoon, K.297b. Mr. Svoboda premiered Michael Gandolfi’s Concerto for Bassoon in 2007 and in 2011, along with his daughter, clarinetist Erin Svoboda, premiered Gandolfi’s Concerto for Clarinet and Bassoon, collaborating on both occasions with Yoichi Udagawa and the Melrose Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Svoboda has more than thirty recordings to his credit with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Symphony Chamber Players, as well as the soundtracks to Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan. His recordings include Gandolfi’s Concerto for Bassoon with Gil Rose and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project; “Le Phénix, 18th-Century French Music for Bassoon,” including music of Boismortier, Corrette, and Devienne; and a CD of early 20th-century European music. Mr. Svoboda is married and the proud father of four daughters. He and his family reside in Melrose. For further information, please visit RichardSvoboda.com.

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James Sommerville became principal horn of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1998, occupying the Helen Sagoff Slosberg/Edna S. Kalman Chair. As principal horn, he is also a member of the Boston Symphony Chamber Players. Mr. Sommerville is also music director of the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra. Winner of the highest prizes at the Munich, Toulon, and CBC competitions, he has pursued a solo career spanning thirty years and has made critically acclaimed appearances with major orchestras throughout North America and Europe. His disc of the Mozart horn concertos with the CBC Vancouver Orchestra won the JUNO Award for Best Classical Recording in Canada. Other award-winning CBC recordings include Britten's Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings and Britten's Canticle. He has recorded chamber music for Deutsche Grammophon, Telarc, CBC, Summit, Marquis, and BSO Classics. Mr. Sommerville has been a member of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, and Symphony Nova Scotia, and was acting solo horn of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. He has toured and recorded extensively as an orchestral player, is heard regularly on the CBC network, and has recorded all of the standard solo horn repertoire for broadcast. As a guest artist and faculty member, he has performed at chamber music festivals worldwide. Solo performances have included the world premiere of Christos Hatzis's Winter Solstice; the North American premiere of Ligeti's Hamburg Concerto with the BSO; John Williams's Horn Concerto; the world premiere of Elliott Carter's Horn Concerto, commissioned for him by the BSO; and the world premiere of Osvaldo Golijov's Sign of the Leviathan, a TMC 75th-anniversary commission, with the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra. Mr. Sommerville has himself commissioned and premiered a great deal of music by young composers, including works ranging from solo horn to full orchestra. Other solo appearances with the BSO have included Richard Strauss's Horn Concerto No. 1, Britten's Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings, Frank Martin's Concerto for Seven Wind Instruments, Timpani, Percussion, and String Orchestra, Mozart's Horn Concertos 1 and 2 (the latter on forty-eight hours' notice with Bernard Haitink conducting), Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 1, and Mozart's Sinfonia concertante in E-flat for winds, K.297b. As a conductor, Mr. Sommerville has appeared with many professional orchestras and ensembles throughout Canada and the U.S.

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