Philadelphia Orchestra Presents 2010 Kuhn Award to Herold Klein

At a special ceremony during its matinee subscription concert on Friday, May 28, 2010, The Philadelphia Orchestra Association presented the C. Hartman Kuhn Award to Herold Klein, a violinist with the Orchestra since 1971. Philadelphia Orchestra Association Board Chairman Richard B. Worley presented the Award.

Volunteer Committees President Sally Bullard presented Boris Balter, violin, and Robert Cafaro, cello, with the traditional watch recognizing their 25 years of service. Assistant Principal Bass Neil Courtney; Emilio Gravagno, bass; and Virginia Halfmann, violin, were acknowledged upon their retirements from the Orchestra during the 2009-10 season.

The C. Hartman Kuhn Award, established in 1941 and named for a charter member of the Board of Directors who served from 1901 to 1933, is given annually to "the member of The Philadelphia Orchestra who has shown ability and enterprise of such character as to enhance the standard and the reputation of The Philadelphia Orchestra."

Violinist Herold Klein has been a member of The Philadelphia Orchestra since 1971. He began studying the violin at the age of four with private teachers in Detroit, and was playing with community orchestras, including the South Oakland Symphony, by the time he was nine. He continued his studies at the National Music Camp at Interlochen, Michigan; at the Meadowmount School of Music; and at the American Federation of Musicians Congress of Strings. His teachers have included Mischa Mischakoff, Ivan Galamian, Josef Gingold, and Rafael Druian.

Mr. Klein entered Wayne State University in 1962, joined the Indianapolis Symphony the following year, and, in 1964, became a member of the Detroit Symphony while continuing his academic studies at Wayne State. He was a member of the United States Army Band Strolling Strings, and since 1987 he has served as concertmaster of the Greater Trenton Symphony Orchestra. Since 1991 he has enjoyed giving his time as a concertmaster of the Lansdowne Symphony. He is also a former member of the Camilli String Quartet.

One of the leaders of the Orchestra's Food Drive this spring, Mr. Klein has also worked with young people in schools and at community music workshops in Upper Darby and Drexel Hill. In his free time, he enjoys woodworking and gardening, and is an avid sailor.

The Volunteer Committees for The Philadelphia Orchestra honored Boris Balter, violin, and Robert Cafaro, cello, for their 25 years of service to the Orchestra. Since 1928 the Volunteer Committees have funded and presented watches to musicians who are completing their 25th year of service.
Violinist Boris Balter joined The Philadelphia Orchestra in 1985 after having been a member of the Baltimore Symphony since 1982. He has also been a member of the Orchestra of New York, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, and the Mexico City Philharmonic. A native of the USSR, he began his musical studies at the Stolyarsky special music school in Odessa. He obtained his degree in solo and orchestral performance and teaching from the Odessa State Conservatory.

Robert Cafaro was a member of the Baltimore Symphony and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra before joining The Philadelphia Orchestra in 1985. He is an avid soloist and chamber musician and has performed recitals and appeared as a soloist in major cities of the world.

An active teacher as well, Mr. Cafaro has been on the cello faculty of the University of Virginia, the Philadelphia College of Bible, the College of New Jersey, the Hartwick Summer Music Festival in Oneonta (NY), Strings International, and the Summer Strings Seminar in Rhinebeck (NY). He has been a member of the Rachmaninov Trio since 2003.

A resident of Cherry Hill (NJ) since 1991, Mr. Cafaro was born in New York City, and began cello studies at age nine. He was awarded first prize at the Suffolk Symphony Young Artist Competition and the Five Towns Competition in Long Island (NY). He entered the Juilliard Preparatory Division as a scholarship student and later enrolled in the Juilliard School where he received Bachelor and Master of Music degrees. He won the Juilliard Cello Concerto Competition in 1979.

Mr. Cafaro is passionately involved in volunteer and outreach activities. He regularly plays for seniors as well as children, and organizes The Philadelphia Orchestra's Habitat for Humanity events in Camden (NJ).

Assistant Principal Bass Neil Courtney is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music, where he studied with Oscar Zimmerman. While a student at Eastman, he played with the Rochester Philharmonic under the direction of Erich Leinsdorf for three seasons. Mr. Courtney became a member of the U.S. Marine Band, at which time he studied with then-Philadelphia Orchestra Principal Bass Roger Scott. Mr. Courtney was principal bass with the National Symphony for four years before leaving in 1961 to join The Philadelphia Orchestra; he became assistant principal bass in 1988. A highlight of his career with the Orchestra was playing the virtuosic double bass obbligato in Mozart's concert aria "Per questa bella mano," K. 612, with bass Eric Owens as soloist.
Mr. Courtney has served on the Board of the Philadelphia Orchestra Media Institute. His other musical interests include composing, and his compositions have been performed on two Philadelphia Orchestra Chamber Music concerts and a Family Concert.

Bassist Emilio Gravagno joined The Philadelphia Orchestra in 1967 after having played in the New Orleans Symphony and the Baltimore Symphony. Mr. Gravagno was born in Chicago and began studying the bass in high school. He attended Southeastern Louisiana College and DePaul University before coming to Philadelphia and the Curtis Institute of Music to study with Roger Scott. Mr. Gravagno has been active in chamber music performances and in Orchestra liaison committees between musicians and members of the Board and management. Outside of music, he enjoys skiing and sailing.

A New York native, Virginia Halfmann studied with Dorothy DeLay, Mischa Mischakoff, Rafael Druian, and at the Eastman School of Music with Joseph Knitzer. While at Eastman, Ms. Halfmann traveled with the school's orchestra on a State Department tour of Europe and Russia, and was also a member of the Rochester Philharmonic. For two summers she attended the Berkshire Music Festival at Tanglewood where she received the Joseph Silverstein and Mary H. Fowler Awards. Upon graduation from Eastman, Ms. Halfmann joined the Detroit Symphony. She joined The Philadelphia Orchestra in 1972.

Founded in 1900, The Philadelphia Orchestra has distinguished itself as one of the leading orchestras in the world through a century of acclaimed performances, historic international tours, best-selling recordings, and its unprecedented record of innovation in recording technologies and outreach.

The Philadelphia Orchestra annually touches the lives of more than one million music lovers worldwide through its performances, publications, recordings, and broadcasts. Each year the Orchestra presents a subscription season in Philadelphia, education and community partnership programs, regular appearances at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, and a three-week tour. Its summer schedule includes performances at Philadelphia's Mann Center for the Performing Arts, free Neighborhood Concerts, and residencies at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival and the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.

For more information on The Philadelphia Orchestra, please visit www.philorch.org.

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