Boston Symphony Orchestra Welcomes Seven New Members

Violinists Jenny Ahn, Sophie Wang, and Takumi Taguchi; clarinetists Christopher Elchico and Andrew Sandwick; cellist Will Chow; and Assistant Librarian Russel Allyn are the newest members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Three of these musicians have already been performing as members of the orchestra during the 2021-22 BSO season: Ms. Ahn and Mr. Elchico started playing with the orchestra on March 3 (program of Ives, Unsuk Chin, and Berlioz, with Andris Nelsons conducting) and Ms. Wang started playing with orchestra on April 7 (program of Tchaikovsky, Ellen Reid, and Sibelius, with Anna Rakitina conducting). Mr. Allyn began his position as Assistant Librarian on June 6. Mr. Chow, Mr. Taguchi, and Mr. Sandwick will begin their membership with the orchestra on Thursday, September 22-the opening concert of the 2022-23 BSO season, under Music Director Andris Nelson. Season details can be found at bso.org.

Violinist Jung-Eun (Jenny) Ahn is a native of Seoul, South Korea, and received her early music education at the Sunhwa Arts School and the Korea National Arts School Pre-College. She came to the United States to pursue a Bachelor of Music degree at the Colburn Conservatory and a Master of Music degree from the New England Conservatory of Music. At NEC, she was a member of the Honors String Quartet. She has performed frequently with the Boston Symphony and the Boston Pops Orchestra since 2014. In addition, she has played with the Chicago Symphony, Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Rhode Island Philharmonic, and A Far Cry. Ahn has participated in numerous summer festivals, including Ravinia's Steans Music Institute, Taos School of Music, and Banff Music Festival. In 2009, she was one of two violinists chosen to participate at the National Arts Centre Institute for Orchestral Studies under the direction of Pinchas Zukerman. As a chamber musician, she has performed at the Ravinia Music Festival, 92nd YMCA in NYC, Seoul Arts Center, Sejong Arts Center, and Kumho Art Center in Korea, among many other venues. Her principal teachers were Paul Biss, Min Park, Yuki Mori, and Robert Lipsett.

Connecticut native Russel Allyn joined the New York City Ballet Orchestra as Music Librarian in 2017. He previously held the position of Orchestra Library Fellow with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and the Tanglewood Music Center. Additionally, he has worked in the orchestra libraries of the New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera, Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Minnesota Orchestra. Russel is a member of the Major Orchestra Librarians' Association (MOLA).

Cellist Will Chow made his concerto debut with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, performing Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations under the baton of Earl Lee in 2021 for one of the PSO's first live audiences since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. He performed the Kodály Sonata for solo cello on Heinz Hall stage for the PSO's Center Stage series on WQED-FM, and he has also been heard on WHYY-TV and NPR's From the Top. Previously, Chow performed as a soloist with the Nova Vista Symphony and the Peninsula Youth Orchestra. He was the principal cellist of the Curtis 20/21 Ensemble in Cedille Records' Grammy-nominated album Two x Four, as well as principal cellist of the Curtis Chamber Orchestra on Curtis on Tour. Chow has been the recipient of a number of prizes, including first place in the Mondavi National Young Artists Competition and the Lawrence Bedini scholarship in San Francisco.

A dynamic and avid chamber musician, Will Chow has collaborated with Mitsuko Uchida, Yo-Yo Ma, Ida Kavafian, Roberto Diaz, and members of the Guarneri, Borromeo, Juilliard, and Cleveland quartets. He has appeared at festivals such as Marlboro Music, Ravinia's Steans Music Institute, the Perlman Music Program, Music from Angelfire, and Music@Menlo. As a recitalist, Chow has performed internationally at venues in countries spanning from Singapore to the Netherlands. This summer, he joins the teaching faculty at the Crescendo Summer Institute in Tokaj, Hungary.

Will Chow was appointed to the cello section of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in 2016 by Manfred Honeck after completing his studies at the Curtis Institute of Music under the tutelage of Carter Brey and Peter Wiley. Chow is a native of the San Francisco Bay Area. Outside of music, he enjoys searching for local boba tea shops in new cities and serving at the Pittsburgh Chinese Church.

Clarinetist Christopher Elchico has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cincinnati Symphony, Houston Grand Opera, Kansas City Symphony, and New World Symphony. His principal teachers were Burt Hara, associate principal clarinetist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and James Campbell, former professor of clarinet at Jacobs School of Music Indiana University, where Mr. Elchico completed a dual master's degree in clarinet and classical saxophone performance. He received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles.

A native of Chicago, IL, clarinetist Andrew Sandwick assumed the position of Bass/Utility Clarinet of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in September 2018. Prior to his appointment in Dallas, he was 2nd/Bass Clarinet of the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra from 2015 through 2018. As an orchestral musician, he has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, and San Francisco Opera.

Andrew Sandwick's awards include the Gino B. Cioffi Memorial Prize at the 2015 Tanglewood Music Center, Third Prize in the 2015 Vandoren Emerging Artist Competition, and First Prize in the 2012-13 Pasadena Showhouse Instrumental Competition. During the summers, he has attended festivals including the Bravo Vail Music Festival, Tanglewood Music Center, Pacific Music Festival, and Aspen Music Festival. Sandwick holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Southern California and was a Master of Music candidate at Rice University. His principal teachers include Yehuda Gilad, Richie Hawley, and David Howard. He is a Buffet Crampon USA Performing Artist/Clinician.

Takumi Taguchi is a recent graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Shmuel Ashkenasi, Midori, and Aaron Rosand. His prior teachers include Simon James, Hiro David, and Mihoko Hirata. In recent summers, he has attended the Heifetz Institute in Staunton, VA, and Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, CA.

Taguchi served as co-concertmaster of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra in the 2021-22 season and appeared with the Princeton Symphony and Symphony in C (NJ). He has also performed as soloist with numerous orchestras in his hometown of Seattle including the Seattle Symphony. A passionate chamber musician, he has collaborated with members of the Dover and Calidore Quartets in performance and received coaching from members of the Guarneri, Vermeer, Tokyo, Takacs, Orion, and Borromeo Quartets.

Chinese-American violinist Sophie Wang is a native of Irmo, South Carolina, and has performed in Carnegie Weill Recital Hall and soloed with the South Carolina Philharmonic and Schwob School of Music Philharmonic. She has won top prizes in the Beijing International Music Festival, New York International Artists, and Music Teachers National Association competitions. Prior to the BSO, Wang was senior assistant concertmaster of the South Carolina Philharmonic and assistant principal second violin of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. An avid chamber musician, she has collaborated with notable artists Roberto Díaz, Wendy Warner, and Charles Wetherbee and has worked closely with the Borromeo, Shanghai, and Brentano string quartets. She was a Fellow of the Tanglewood Music Center and has also participated in such festivals as IMS Prussia Cove, Taos School of Music, and Sarasota Music Festival. Wang received her graduate diploma and master's degree from New England Conservatory and a bachelor's degree from Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University. Her principal teachers have included Malcolm Lowe, Donald Weilerstein, Sergiu Schwartz, and William Terwilliger. She currently plays on a 1738 Testore violin on generous loan from the Colburn Collection.

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