Tuesday, September 03, 2019

Moving In, Moving Around at San Francisco Symphony

The annual email from SFS about personnel changes, as the season opens:
This season, Jessie Fellows joins the San Francisco Symphony as Assistant Principal 2nd Violin. James Lee Wyatt III, Section Percussion since 2001, fills the position of Assistant Principal Timpani/Percussion as a one-year sub. The position became open following Raymond Froehlich’s retirement at the end of last season. Robert Klieger fills the open position of Section Percussion as a one-year sub.
The following orchestra members will have sabbaticals during the 2019–20 season: cellist Barbara Bogatin, September 1–November 30, 2019; bassist William Ritchen, September 8–December 7, 2019; and violinist Cathryn Down, February 3–August 1, 2020.
This season, we also celebrate piccolo player Catherine Payne’s 25-year anniversary as a member of the San Francisco Symphony. Payne was the first musician hired by Michael Tilson Thomas after his appointment as Music Director. Watch Payne’s “Meet the SFS Musicians” video here.
My personal addenda: "Trey" Wyatt filled the principal percussion position between the retirement of Jack van Geem and the appointment of Jacob Nissly; auditions to replace Raymond Froehlich are scheduled for early November (preliminary and semi-final rounds) and February, 2020 (final round).

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