End Notes

The novices of the Nouveau Program

Members of the Nouveau Program performed as part of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Interfaith Vespers Service at Zion Baptist Church on January 17. The Novices, a Nouveau quartet, Apprentices and Chamber Players all took part in the program in commemoration of the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. Following the service, Cincinnati Mayor and former CSO Board member, Aftab Pureval, took a moment to talk with the students. Our Diversity Fellows have been successful this season in their auditions and competitions. Amy Nickler has been invited to play Principal Bass with the South Florida Symphony and Section Bass with the Palm Beach Symphony for the 2021–22 season. Amy, along with bassist Luis Celis, have won positions with the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra. Cellist Luis Parra will perform with the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra. This season the Fellows have engaged in workshops and coaching with the Harlem Quartet and Thalea Quaret, and, in March, Dr. Quinton Morris, violinist and professor at Seattle University, will host a three-day workshop with individual sessions for the Fellows.

Nouveau Players with Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval

Louis Langrée was recently promoted to the rank of Officer in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture for his innumerable contributions and influences on music, both in France and around the globe.

Evin Blomberg, member of the CSO violin section, was awarded Laureate in the Senior Artist division of the 2021 Chicago Violin Competition. Her performance of Béla Bartók’s Second Violin Concerto can be found at chicagoviolincompetition.org. The CSO’s Musicians in Schools program, which pairs CSO musicians with schools to expose students to a variety of instrumental music, familiarize them with orchestral instruments, and provide opportunities to get the know the musicians who make up the orchestra, has had an outstanding year so far. Since August of 2021, the program has reached more than 700 students ranging from pre-K through college in over 60 schools/education sites with nearly 87 hours of music provided by 28 different members of the Orchestra.

CSO Diversity Fellow Amy Nickler, bass