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ANNAPOLIS SYMPHONY APPOINTS NEW CONCERTMASTER

AND ASSOCIATE CONCERTMASTER

ANNAPOLIS, MD – The Annapolis Symphony Orchestra has just appointed musicians to its two most important chairs in the first violin section. Says Music Director, José-Luis Novo, “having musicians of this caliber on board can only help improve our orchestra even more.”

Israeli native, Netanel Draiblate, has been selected as Concertmaster beginning in the ASO’s 2010/2011 season. Recognized as a rising star in the violin world, Netanel’s orchestral experience includes principal positions with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra under the direction of Maestro Daniel Barenboim, and the Tel-Aviv Soloists, and Concertmaster positions with the World Youth Orchestra, Thelma Yellin Symphony Orchestra, Israel Young Philharmonic, the Chicago College of Performing Arts Symphony, the Peabody Symphony Orchestra and the University of Maryland Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed as Concertmaster and Associate Concertmaster with the Lancaster (PA) Symphony Orchestra.

Netanel Draiblate has performed as soloist with many distinguished orchestras including a Carnegie Hall solo debut with the American Symphony Orchestra in 2008. He also accompanied the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra on their 2010 tour of China as a soloist. He has performed with Daniel Stabrawa, collaborated with Pinchas Zukerman, Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Jaime Laredo and Lin Cho Liang in a gala concert at Carnegie Hall, and represented Israel in a concert hosted by the King of Norway.

A pupil of the renowned Pamela Frank, Val Blutner, Hagai Shaham and Shmuel Ashkenasi, Netanel currently studies with David Salness. He has participated in numerous recitals and chamber music concerts in throughout Israel, USA, Argentina, and Europe.

He has won many prizes and awards including the Jerusalem Academy Solo Competition, the Ben-Haim Competition, the Young Artists Competition in Haifa, the Peabody Conservatory's Yale Gordon Competition, J.C Van Hulstein Award, the Carl Holzapfel Violin Shop Endowed Scholarship and the Grace Clagett Ranney Prize. Netanel is the first violinist to be supported by the Ilona Feher Foundation. He is the recipient of scholarships from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation, the Ronen Foundation, the Barenboim-Said Foundation, the Buchman Haiman Foundation and the Peabody Institute.

Canadian-born violinist, Nicholas Currie, will be the ASO’s new Associate Concertmaster. He is also the Assistant Concertmaster of Concert Artists of Baltimore, and Concertmaster of the Mid-Atlantic Symphony. A member of the Azimuth String Quartet, he was recently the Assistant Principal Second of the Baltimore Opera Orchestra.

Nicholas graduated from the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore where he studied with the late Berl Senofsky. He also studied under the late Bernard Eichen and his schooling included a summer at the American Conservatory in Fontainbleau, France. He has performed as a soloist with a number of orchestras and chamber groups and he is an Adjunct Lecturer at McDaniel College.

Music Director, José-Luis Novo explains, “The concertmaster is the most important artistic position in an orchestra after the conductor. Netanel will lead the first violin section and coordinate the string section at large and the interaction between the other sections of the orchestra and the strings. He tunes the orchestra at the beginning of rehearsals or concerts, oversees the uniformity of style, bow strokes and intonation in the strings, and serves as an objective point of reference if the conductor’s indications are unclear.

Nicholas takes over the concertmaster’s duties when Netanel is absent. When the concertmaster is there, Nicholas will assist Netanel in the smooth execution of all of these duties.”

Subscriptions to the ASO’s 2010-2011 season are now on sale. Single tickets will go on sale August 30, 2010. For tickets, subscriptions, or further information, call the ASO Box Office at 410-263-0907 or visit and order online at www.annapolissymphony.org.

# # # Photos of Netanel Draiblate and Nicholas Currie to follow in separate email.

The Annapolis Symphony Orchestra is supported in part by the Arts Council of Anne Arundel County, and the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency dedicated to cultivating a vibrant cultural community where the arts thrive. Funding for the Maryland State Arts Council is also provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, which believes that a great nation deserves a great art.