Detroit Symphony Orchestra Appoints Violinist Robyn Bollinger as Concertmaster

By Laurie Niles: This week the Detroit Symphony Orchestra announced the appointment of violinist Robyn Bollinger as Concertmaster, following a successful audition in February and two-week trial with the DSO and Music Director Jader Bignamini in May. Bollinger replaces Yoonshin Song, who left in 2019 to become Concertmaster of the Houston Symphony. DSO Violinist longtime Associate Concertmaster Kim Kennedy has been serving as acting DSO concertmaster in the interim. Bollinger will join the DSO this fall for the start of the 2022-23 season. "Robyn’s great skill and technique were very apparent at her audition," Bignamini said. “I was impressed with her precise intonation, and I remember thinking that we found our DSO sound. Working with Robyn and the DSO musicians in May confirmed that she also is an exceptional leader with the right qualities to be our concertmaster. Over those two weeks in Orchestra Hall, she earned our respect, leading with professionalism, seriousness, accuracy, the right amount of flexibility, and a good attitude." Bollinger comes to the position with concertmaster experience, having served as a guest Concertmaster with the Pittsburgh Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony and St. Bart’s Music Festival Orchestra. A former member of the Boston-based chamber orchestra, A Far Cry, Bollinger also earned a 2016 Fellowship from the Lenore Annenberg Arts Fellowship Fund for her multimedia performance and recording project Ciaccona: The Bass of Time. As a soloist, Bollinger made her Philadelphia Orchestra debut at age 12 and regularly performs as soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician across the United States She earned both her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from New England Conservatory. Bollinger's major teachers included Soovin Kim, Miriam Fried, Paul Biss, Paul Kantor, and Lyle Davidson. She currently plays on a 1697 G. B. Rogeri violin on loan from a private collector and a 2013 Benoit Rolland bow commissioned especially for her. BELOW: Bollinger plays Bach's Ciacconna: * * *

Enjoying Violinist.com? Click here to sign up for our free, bi-weekly email newsletter. And if you've already signed up, please invite your friends! Thank you.

You might also like:

• The Week in Reviews, Op. 252: Robyn Bollinger's all-Bach recital
• For the Record, Op. 35: Robyn Bollinger's recording Ciaccona: The Bass of Time
• The Week in Reviews, Op. 229: Robyn Bollinger's multimedia recital "Bass of Time"