Utah Symphony Welcomes Three New Violinists

The Utah Symphony, one of only 15 full-time, 52-week symphony orchestras in the United States, added several new faces to the orchestra at the start of the 2017-18 season, including three violin positions resulting from national auditions held in the spring of 2017.

First Violin Bonnie Terry was born and raised in Salt Lake City and returns home after a decade as the Associate Concertmaster of the San Antonio Symphony, and also playing with the Grant Park Music Festival Orchestra in Chicago for the past 14 summers. Ms. Terry started violin when she was six years old under Kris Palmer and Hiroko Primrose. She first soloed with the Utah Symphony under the direction of Joseph Silverstein on the annual Salute to Youth Concert at the age of 10.

Ms. Terry received her Bachelor's degree and Performer's Certificate from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where she studied with William Preucil (concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra and a former concertmaster of the Utah Symphony), and earned a Master's Degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music where she was also a student of Preucil.

Following graduate school, she spent a year as a fellow with the New World Symphony in Florida and was the concertmaster of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra for three years, teaching violin at the University of Arizona.

Assistant Principal Second Violin Evgenia Zharzhavskaya joins the orchestra after three seasons as a full-time substitute with Houston Symphony. She was born in St. Petersburg, Russia and started her musical education playing piano at an early age before beginning her violin studies when she was six years old. She entered the Rimsky-Korsakov School of Music the same year and later continued studies at the St. Petersburg State Conservatory where she received her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees.

She has taken part in numerous music festivals including Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival in Germany, Verbier Festival in Switzerland, Gustav Mahler Academy in Italy, and Miyazaki Festival in Japan. Ms. Zharzhavskaya moved to Florida in 2010 to study with Elmar Oliveira at Lynn University Conservatory of Music. "I was drawn to the distinguished sound of the orchestra, great community, and beauty of Utah," she says. "I like nature very much so I am very happy to have an excellent opportunity to explore unbelievable beauty of Utah."

Also joining the Utah Symphony in the second violin section is Hannah Linz, who most recently spent two seasons with the Dallas Symphony and as a substitute with The Philadelphia Orchestra. Originally from Okemos, Michigan, she began playing violin at age three and piano at age five, and completed a degree in violin performance at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. She also studied privately with Ik-Hwan Bae, Jorja Fleezanis, and Alexander Kerr.

"I am thrilled to join the Utah Symphony not only because it is a great orchestra with a fantastic music director, but I also enjoy the incredible natural beauty that this state has to offer," said Ms. Linz. "I am excited to get to know Utah and explore this gorgeous state."

About Utah Symphony

Founded in 1940, the Utah Symphony performs more than 175 concerts each season and offers all Utahns easy access to world-class live musical performances of the world's greatest music in the state's top venues. Since being named the orchestra's seventh music director in 2009, Thierry Fischer has attracted leading musicians and top soloists, refreshed programming, drawn increased audiences, and galvanized community support. In addition to numerous regional and domestic tours, including the Mighty 5® Tour of Utah's National Parks, the Utah Symphony has embarked on seven international tours and performed at Carnegie Hall in 2016 coinciding with the orchestra's 75th anniversary celebrations. The Utah Symphony has released more than 100 recordings, including, most recently, three albums for Reference Recordings: Mahler's Symphony No. 1; Dawn to Dust, which features three Utah Symphony-commissioned works by Nico Muhly, Andrew Norman, and Augusta Read Thomas; and Mahler's Symphony No. 8, "Symphony of a Thousand," with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and choristers of The Madeleine Choir School. With its many subscription, education, and outreach concerts and tours, the Utah Symphony is one of the most engaged orchestras in the nation. For more information, visit www.utahsymphony.org.

Season Sponsor for Utah Symphony | Utah Opera is the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation; Masterworks Series Sponsor is O.C. Tanner; Entertainment Series Sponsor is Zions Bank; Family Series Sponsor is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Foundation; and Guest Conductor Sponsor is The Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation.

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