Boston Symphony Orchestra and Andris Nelsons Welcome Three New Musicians to Begin in the 2025–26 Season

The Boston Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Andris Nelsons are pleased to announce the appointment of Caleb Quillen as the orchestra’s new principal bass. Currently a member of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Quillen is a graduate of New England Conservatory and was a Tanglewood Music Center fellow for two summers. He will occupy the Harold D. Hodgkinson chair, succeeding Edwin Barker, who retires at the end of the 2024–25 BSO season after 48 years as principal bass. In addition to leading the BSO’s bass section at Symphony Hall, Tanglewood, Carnegie Hall, and on tour, Quillen will join other first-chair string and wind players to become a member of the Boston Symphony Chamber Players. He will be the tenth principal bass in the history of the BSO. 

BSO third horn Michael Winter has been appointed associate principal horn, filling the vacancy left by Richard “Gus” Sebring when he was promoted to principal horn in April 2023. Winter, who occupies the Margaret Andersen Congleton chair, endowed in perpetuity, also became principal horn of the Boston Pops with the promotion. He joined the BSO in September 2012 from the Buffalo Philharmonic and Syracuse Symphony Orchestra. Currently on the faculty of New England Conservatory of Music, Winter also serves as a volunteer firefighter for the town of Richmond in Berkshire County. 

The BSO also announces the appointments of section violins Samuel Andonian and Arianna Brusubardis Grace. Andonian, currently a doctoral fellow at the CUNY Graduate Center, is a native of Greater Boston who grew up playing in the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras (BYSO) and was a soloist at Armenian Night with the Boston Pops at age 17. Brusubardis Grace is a graduate of the Tanglewood Music Center and joins the BSO after holding positions in the Canton Symphony Orchestra, the Kansas City Symphony, and the Boston Ballet Orchestra. 

Statement from BSO Music Director Andris Nelsons: 

“After almost 50 years as principal bass of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, my colleagues and I bid a fond farewell to Ed Barker, who retires at the end of this spring. Ed has led his section with exceptional musicianship and integrity, and we are filled with gratitude for his years dedicated to the BSO. Ed remains a cherished part of our BSO family and its legacy. At the same time, we are very pleased to warmly welcome the Boston Symphony Orchestra's new principal bass, Caleb Quillen. Caleb’s outstanding artistry will be invaluable to the BSO as he joins us in his roles as section leader and as a member of the Boston Symphony Chamber Players. We are also very pleased to welcome two wonderful, talented young violinists, Samuel Andonian and Arianna Brusubardis Grace, to the orchestra. Finally, after an impressive audition, we are thrilled to heartily congratulate Michael Winter on his promotion to associate principal horn.”