For the first time in nearly 30 years the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra is searching for a new concertmaster. The first of three finalists, Gabriel Lefkowitz, will join the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra during the week of January 23 for auditions which includes performing with the KSO at the Moxley Carmichael Masterworks Concerts on January 27 and 28 at the Tennessee Theatre, as well as a solo recital on January 24 at the Clayton Performing Arts Center on the Pellissippi State Community College campus. This recital will take place at 8:00 PM and is FREE and open to the public on a first come, first served basis. Patrons wishing to reserve their tickets to this recital can call the KSO Box Office at 865-291-3310.

Originally from Newton, MA, 23-year-old violinist Gabriel Lefkowitz holds a Bachelors Degree from Columbia College in New York City where he graduated in three years with the honor magna cum laude having studied Music and Economics. In May of 2010, he earned a Masters in Violin Performance at The Juilliard School, where he was a concertmaster and principal second of The Juilliard Orchestra on several occasions and studied with Masao Kawasaki and Joel Smirnoff. In New York, Gabriel has performed at many of the city's major concert halls, including Carnegie Hall, Avery-Fischer Hall, the New York State Theater, Alice Tully Hall, and Miller Theater, with professional ensembles such as the New York City Ballet as well as with ensembles from Juilliard and Columbia.

Gabriel will perform two movements from Bach's Sonata No. 3 in C Major, Beethoven's Sonata No. 5 in F Major, Op. 24, "Spring," Ravel's Sonata in G Major and Wieniawski's Polonaise in D Major. Accompanying Lefkowitz on piano will be Kevin Class, Director of Collaborative Piano and Music Director/Conductor of the Opera Theatre at the University of Tennessee.

"It is with great excitement and anticipation that we present the first of three solo recitals featuring our finalists for the position of concertmaster for the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra," says KSO Music Director Lucas Richman. "In addition to the actual KSO Masterworks concerts and private receptions, these recitals will afford us all, musicians and audiences alike, the opportunity to find out more about the potential leader of the KSO string section. We'd like to thank Pellissippi College for making it possible for us to showcase this aspect of our search for the right person who will occupy this very important orchestral chair."

There are two other finalists in the running for the position of KSO Concertmaster: Joseph Meyer will join the orchestra the week of February 20 and Elina Lev will join the orchestra the week of May 15. These finalists were chosen from a national audition held this past Spring and Fall.

The KSO has contributed to the cultural life in East Tennessee since 1935. Under the leadership of Lucas Richman, the orchestra consists of more than 80 professional musicians and performs more than 200 programs throughout East Tennessee each season. Performing in traditional venues such as the Tennessee Theatre, Bijou Theatre and the Civic Auditorium, and in non-traditional places like hospitals, school classrooms, nursing homes, city parks and churches, the KSO reaches more than 200,000 people throughout the region each year.

Published December 22, 2010