The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra has announced the naming of its Principal Viola position starting with the upcoming 2016/17 season and continuing for 15 years.
It will be known as the William L. Gamble Chair, and it honors the legacy and bequest of the late Mr. Gamble a music lover and RPO patron who was also a member of the Golden Link Folk Singing Society and played in the Hoot’n Holler’n Hotshots Band.
Violist Melissa Matson holds the position. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Eastman School of Music where she is currently an associate professor.
The RPO also announced four new musicians to its ranks:
--New Principal Second Violin Hanna Landrum, a Minnesota native who was most recently guest concertmaster for the Youngstown Symphony and the Canton Symphony.
--New Associate/Assistant/Utility Horn Nikolette LaBonte who recently was Acting Assistant Principal Horn of the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra.
--Cellist Una Gong, who has been pursuing her Artist Diploma as a Fellow of the San Francisco Academy Orchestra.
--Zexun Shen who served as the principal cellist of the Mannes College of Music Orchestra
