Chicago Philharmonic Welcomes Record 15 Member Musicians For 2022-23 Season

The Chicago Philharmonic Society has announced the addition of 15 new musician members for the 22/23 Season. With the addition of these new members, Chicago Philharmonic has expanded its pool of the Midwest's finest musicians to 209.

The 15 new musicians are violinists Azusa Tashiro, Caitlin Edwards, David Taylor, Kate Carter, Roy Meyer, and Sylvia de la Cerna; saxophonists Geof Bradfield and John Wojciechowski; bassists Kit Polen, Michael Hovnanian, and Nicholas Adams; cellist Mara McClain; pianist Bob Sutter; drummer Jim Widlowski; and guitarist Steve Roberts.

"It is such a joy to see the orchestra grow," said Executive Director Terell Johnson. "With so many new concerts, partnerships, and events, we are happy to provide opportunities for these incredibly talented and well-deserving musicians."

Chicago Philharmonic has a unique governance structure unlike nearly any other orchestra in the United States. The governing body of Board members and Board-appointed committees are made up of a majority of musician members. In total, 13 musicians participate as Board Officers, making up at least 50% of the Board of Directors, and leading nearly all seven Board-appointed committees.

Musicians across Chicago and the Midwest are encouraged to submit their resumes and supporting information to the Chicago Philharmonic to be considered by the musician-led Personnel Committee for addition to the orchestra's Prospective Member list. Prospective Members who perform with the Chicago Philharmonic three times during a season are eligible to be considered for membership. The Personnel Committee evaluates eligible musicians each year for possible addition to the member roster and those approved by the committee are invited to become full Musician Members.

Founded by musicians of the Lyric Opera Orchestra in 1989, The Chicago Philharmonic Society is a collaboration of over 200 of the highest-level classical musicians in the Midwest. Its orchestra, known as the Chicago Philharmonic, has been called one of the country's finest symphonic orchestras, and its unique chamber music ensembles perform as Chicago Phil Chamber. The brilliance of our structure is in its versatility - the best ensemble is curated for each concert from the exceptional pool of musicians, be it classical, jazz, pops, movie concerts, outreach programming, and everything else.

The Illinois Council of Orchestras has awarded Chicago Philharmonic "Orchestra of the Year'' (2018), "Programming of the Year" (2019), "Community Relations of the Year" (2019), "Executive Director of the Year" (2020), and "Conductor of the Year" (2021). Find out more about Chicago Philharmonic at chicagophilharmonic.org.

ABOUT THE MUSICIANS

AZUSA TASHIRO, VIOLIN

A Chicago based violinist, Azusa Tashiro enjoys her active and diverse career as an orchestra player, chamber musician and violin teacher. She is a Concertmaster of the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra, and holds positions at the South Bend Symphony Orchestra as an Assistant Concertmaster and the Rockford Symphony Orchestra as a Principal Second Violinist. She has regularly performed with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and has performed with the Minnesota Orchestra, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Joffrey Ballet, and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago which she served as a Concertmaster in their 2009-10 season. She has also appeared as a Guest Concertmaster in the Orchestra Iowa for their 2018-19 season.

BOB SUTTER, PIANO

Bob Sutter is a versatile pianist, keyboardist and composer who has performed and/or conducted in pit orchestras for major musical productions-in Chicago and on tour. Among the many shows he's performed in are Broadway in Chicago productions of "The Lion King," "The Color Purple," "Beauty and the Beast," "Cats" and "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," as well as productions at the Goodman and Steppenwolf theatres.

CAITLIN EDWARDS, VIOLIN

Violinist Caitlin Edwards began her musical journey at the age of eight within a non-profit organization in her hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. She later attended the University of Louisville (BM) and DePaul University (MM). Edwards is a 2022 Esteemed Artist Award recipient from the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, a 2021 3Arts/Walder Foundation awardee, 2018 Gateways Music Festival Rising Star, a co-curator with the Fulcrum Point New Music Project, and a former fellow with the Chicago Sinfonietta. In addition, she has received Grammy certificates for recordings on Disney's "The Lion King" and for albums by John Legend and PJ Morton. She released her debut album, "Exhale," in 2021.

David Taylor, VIOLIN

David Taylor joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as Assistant-Concertmaster in 1979. Born in Canton, Ohio, he first studied violin with his father beginning at the age of four and later continued his studies with Margaret Randall and Rafael Druian at the Cleveland Institute of Music. He later studied with Ivan Galamian and Dorothy DeLay at the Juilliard School, where he received both bachelor and master's degrees. He became a member of the Cleveland Orchestra in 1974 as a first violinist. With the Chicago Symphony he as made numerous solo appearances, including performances with Sir Georg Solti. He also has served as Acting-Concertmaster of the Saint Louis Symphony and Concertmaster of the Milwaukee Symphony.

GEOF BRADFIELD, SAXOPHONE

Geof Bradfield's work as a composer and performer on saxophones and clarinets embraces intersections of modern jazz and other streams of African Diaspora music, drawing inspiration from Charlie Parker, Melba Liston, Lead Belly, Shona mbira music, and Gullah spirituals. Born in Houston, TX, Bradfield has performed throughout North America, Europe, Russia, Asia, Africa and the MiddleEast, sharing the stage with artists such as Randy Weston, Dana Hall, Clark Sommers, Brian Blade, Anna Webber, Orrin Evans, Jeff Parker, Matt Ulery, and Ryan Cohan. His work is featured on 50+ CDs including eight albums as a leader that have garnered critical accolades from the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and NPR.

JIM WIDLOWSKI, DRUMSET

Jim Widlowski's credits include Chicago (BIC) productions of Hamilton, the Book of Mormon, Billy Elliot, Wicked, Frozen, Beautiful, Rent and the Lion King. He has also performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera, Grant Park Symphony and the Milwaukee Symphony.

JOHN WOJCIECHOWSKI, SAXOPHONE

Saxophonist John Wojciechowski, is originally from Detroit and has spent the last 20 years performing and teaching in Chicago. In addition to leading his own groups, he has performed or recorded with The Chicago Jazz Orchestra, The Chicago Jazz Ensemble, The Woody Herman Orchestra, The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Clark Terry, Charlie Haden, and Kurt Elling among many others. Wojciechowski was also a third place finalist in the 1996 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition. He is currently a member of the Chicago Jazz Orchestra, Dana Hall's spring, the Jeff Campbell Trio (w/ John Hollenbeck), and Ryan Cohan's Sextet and Quartet. He has appeared on dozens of recordings as a sideman, and has two recordings as a leader: "Lexicon", released in 2009 and "Focus" which was released in the fall of 2015 on Origin records to critical acclaim.

KATE CARTER, VIOLIN

Kate Carter is a versatile violinist who enjoys a varied career as a recitalist, orchestral player and teacher. She has been the Assistant Concertmaster of the Elmhurst Symphony since 2008, and she also performs regularly with ensembles including the Chicago Philharmonic, Lyric Opera Orchestra, Joffrey Ballet, Camerata Chicago, Fulcrum Point New Music Ensemble, Access Contemporary Music, and others. Recent activities include recording a second album of American works with Blue Violet Duo, as well as co-founding the Pyrenean String Quartet with fellow Chicago Philharmonic members. Carter is also active as a member of the Board of Directors of the Musicians Club of Women, a group dedicated to supporting women in music. Dr. Carter holds degrees from Northwestern University and the Eastman School of Music.

KIT POLEN, BASS

Chicago Philharmonic bassist Kit Polen performs regularly with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, including joining them on tours through Europe, Asia, and the US. Since 2015, he has been Principal Bass of Camerata Chicago as well as the Associate Principal Bass of the Quad City Symphony Orchestra, in addition to performing with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. As a chamber musician, he has performed with many artists around the country including the Kontras Quartet, Chai Collaborative Ensemble, and Leon Fleisher. Equally comfortable outside the traditional symphonic setting, Polen has collaborated with CSO's MusicNOW series, the Chicago Composer's Orchestra, and has also been a part of multiple Grammy nominated R&B recordings.

MARA MCCLAIN, CELLO

Mara McClain is currently a freelance cellist in the Chicago area, performing regularly with the Lyric Opera Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Joffrey Ballet Orchestra, Chicago Philharmonic and the Grant Park Music Festival. McClain was previously a member of the Alabama Symphony, in Birmingham Alabama, from 2006-2018. She attended the Cleveland Institute of Music for her undergraduate studies with Richard Aaron. Prior or to her appointment with the Alabama Symphony she joined the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, as principal cellist. After many years away, she is thrilled to be back in Chicago with her husband, who is also a cellist, teacher and the director of the Barston Suzuki Center at the Music Institute of Chicago.

MICHAEL HOVNANIAN, BASS

Michael Hovnanian grew up in the Seattle area. His primary teachers were James Harnett and Ronald Simon of the Seattle Symphony. He also studied with Frederick Tinsley of the Los Angeles Philharmonic at California Institute of the Arts, where he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. A member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1989 until 2019, he is currently an instructor of double bass at DePaul University in Chicago.

Nicholas Adams, BASS

Originally from the Western Pennsylvania area, Nicholas Adams received a Bachelor's of Science in Music Education from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania studying under Nathan Santos as well as Jeffrey Grubbs of the Pittsburgh Symphony. Following that, Adams studied at the Academy of Music in Zagreb, Croatia under Niška Bobetko before pursuing a Master's degree at Carnegie Mellon studying under Micah Howard. Following that, Adams relocated to the Chicago Area where he joined the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and started freelancing in the greater Chicago Area. After moving to the area, he won the position of Principal Bass at the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, served as Principal Bass of the Charleston Symphony.

ROY MEYER, VIOLIN

In addition to his role as concertmaster of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Meyer is a founding member of the Apollo Music Festival in Houston, Minnesota. Chamber music collaborations include performances with Mike Block and Wu Tong of Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble, and violinists Tobias Steymans, concertmaster of the Bavarian Radio Symphony, and Robert Hanford, concertmaster of the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Festival appearances include the Round Top Festival and performances with Opera Italiana with musicians of the Metropolitan Opera as part of the Central Park Summer Concerts, among others.

Steve Roberts, GUITAR

Steve Roberts (guitars, mandolin, banjo, other fretted instruments), a veteran of the Chicago rock, jazz and experimental music scene, has recorded and performed with a myriad of local and touring artists. His work as co-founder/songwriter/electric guitarist for the bands Loud Thoughts and the post-punk/art rock D-Section has somehow led (most unnaturally), to popular and not-so-popular music, orchestral, new music, musical theater and chamber music.

SYLVIA DE LA CERNA, VIOLIN

Sylvia de la Cerna is Chicago-based violinist and music educator. She has performed as a substitute violinist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Grant Park Symphony and is a founding member of the Chicago Sinfonietta. De la Cerna has been a soloist with the Orchestra of Illinois, the Chicago Chamber Orchestra and the Chicago Jazz Ensemble. She has also performed and toured with The Black Music Repertory Ensemble, The Gateways Chamber Ensemble, and the Dee Alexander Jazz Group. She has accompanied acclaimed musicians such as Jon Batiste, Common, Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, Page and Plant, Diana Ross, Andrea Bocelli, Stevie Wonder, the late Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles to name a few, and previously served as the National Music Contractor for Vince Gill.

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