Spokane Symphony names Wolski new concertmaster

Mar 6, 2007

For Immediate Release

Contact: Annie Matlow 326-3136

Spokane Symphony Music Director Eckart Preu announced today the selection of Mateusz Wolski as the orchestra's concertmaster. Wolski was one of four candidates who have auditioned with the orchestra this season. Wolski follows Kelly Farris who retired in May 2006 after 37 years in this key leadership position. He will assume his duties in September 2007.

Our concertmaster search was a great experience for the orchestra. When you look for a key person like a concertmaster you have to re-think and re-evaluate your music making. It's a unique opportunity to lay out the path you want to go into the future. That future is determined to a large part by the new Fox Theatre and the concertmaster. While the Fox will provide us with exceptional space and acoustics, the concertmaster is crucial in the artistic development of the orchestra, said Preu.

I am thrilled that Mateusz Wolski will join the Spokane Symphony. He is an excellent musician who possesses incredible virtuosity and musicianship. It was important for us to find the person who represents the sound we are striving for and Mateusz sings with an extremely beautiful and rich tone on his violin. He brings a wealth of experience with him and is an excellent communicator. He is passionate at heart and adventurous in spirit and that's exactly what music is about, Preu said.

He is looking forward to living here in Spokane and engaging with the community. His wife is a singer she will perform with the Spokane Symphony in Carmina Burana on April 13,' Preu added.

Wolski played the opening night SuperPops concert with Doc Severinsen on Sept. 30 and the Brahms Blast Classics concert on Oct. 6. He came back for a second audition when he performed with the Spokane Symphony on Feb. 9,

He currently serves as concertmaster of the Annapolis Symphony. .He has had a distinguished career in the United States and abroad. He came to the U.S. to attend Manhattan School of Music in 1996. It was there, with full scholarship, that he completed his bachelors and masters degrees under the tutelage of Glenn Dicterow, concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic.

An enthusiastic chamber musician, Wolski has appeared in New York City at Carnegie Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, 92nd Street Y, and the Kosciuszko Foundation. Abroad, his performances have included Wigmore Hall in London and the Mozarteum in Salzburg, as well as numerous engagements throughout Poland, Italy, England and Germany. His performances have been broadcast on WQXR in New York, as well as on Polish National Television.

Wolski has participated as soloist and ensemble artist in such international music festivals as the Amadeus Summer Course, Attergau Music Festival, the Aldebourgh Musical Festival, and the Sarasota Music Festival. He won the concerto competitions in every available category at Manhattan School of Music, awarding him performances of Waxman's Carmen Fantazy and Mozart's Simphonia Concertante. In 2003, he also performed the Brahms Double Concerto with the Juneau Symphony.