Monday, October 7, 2024

Chautauqua, N.Y. – Chautauqua Institution and the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra (CSO) today announced a series of new musician appointments. Sharon Roffman joins the CSO as concertmaster after a two-year audition process, Stanislav Chernyshev as Principal Clarinet, and Matthew Strauss as Principal Timpani. Additionally, six exceptional violinists — Leslie Frey Anderegg, Zhe Deng, Zhen Lui, Molly McDonald, Kurt Munstedt and Timothy Peters — have been welcomed ahead of the 2025 season. Cristina Cutts Dougherty’s appointment as Principal Tuba is historic, as she becomes the first female principal tuba player in the orchestra’s history. Led by Music Director and Principal Conductor Rossen Milanov and Principal Pops Conductor Stuart Chafetz, the 2025 season will be an exciting step forward for the orchestra’s artistic level.  

“The past summer was extremely important for securing the high artistic caliber of the CSO now and in the future. We completed our multiyear, nationwide search for our concertmaster, selecting the extraordinary Sharon Roffman,” shared Milanov. “We appointed new clarinet, tuba and timpani. New, high-caliber musicians have energized the multiple openings of the violin section of the CSO. I am very proud the CSO attracts such highly qualified candidates. This speaks volumes for the reputation of our orchestra and the desire for more musicians to make Chautauqua Institution their summer artistic home.” 

We enthusiastically welcome Sharon Roffman as concertmaster of the CSO, selected after a two-year audition process. Chautauqua audiences got to know Roffman during her trial appearances in summer 2023 and summer 2024. Roffman formerly served as concertmaster of Royal Scottish National Orchestra and has performed as a guest concertmaster with Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, London Symphony Orchestra, Swedish Radio Symphony, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, and Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. She has been a frequent guest member of the Australian Chamber Orchestra, among others.  

Stanislav Chernyshev, recently appointed principal clarinetist of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, joins the CSO as Principal Clarinet. He has performed globally at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York, Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, and The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and internationally. He has collaborated with Grammy-winning ensembles Eighth Blackbird and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Jupiter Chamber Players, Shuffle Concert and Frisson Ensemble.  

Cristina Cutts Dougherty, Principal Tuba of The Phoenix Symphony, will make history by joining the CSO as its first female Principal Tuba. She previously served as Principal Tuba with the Artosphere Festival Orchestra and Acting Principal Tuba with the Britt Festival Orchestra. She has performed as a guest tubist with renowned orchestras including Los Angeles Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Dougherty has earned top honors, such as First Prize at the International Tuba & Euphonium Young Artist Competition and the Grand Prize at the Pasadena Showcase Instrumental Competition. As a chamber musician and educator, she has toured internationally with Seraph Brass and presented master classes at festivals such as Lieksa Brass Week in Finland, the Brevard Music Center, and the Gravissimo Low Brass Festival in Portugal. 

Celebrated and prolific musician Matthew Strauss joins the CSO as principal timpanist. He is the associate principal timpanist / section percussionist with the Houston Symphony. He has performed with prestigious orchestras such as The Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, and SF (San Francisco) Symphony, among others. He has performed with The Chicago Chamber Musicians, Bard Festival Chamber Players, Tucson Winter Chamber Music Festival, and Skaneateles Music Festival. He has participated in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s contemporary chamber series, MusicNow. He has presented master classes and clinics at numerous schools, festivals, and conventions, such as the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, New World Symphony, The Juilliard School, Aspen Music Festival, Conservatoire de Region in Paris and more. 

The CSO also welcomes six new violin appointments, highlighting the orchestra’s broadening reach. 

Leslie Frey Anderegg from The Phoenix Symphony joins the first violins. A celebrated performer, she has performed on the NPR show “From the Top” and has been a featured soloist with the National Repertory Orchestra. Before joining the Phoenix Symphony in 2005, Anderegg was a member of many regional orchestras, including Greenville Symphony, Evansville Philharmonic, Akron Symphony and Canton Symphony Orchestra. Anderegg and her family joined the Chautauqua community in 2016 when her husband, Peter Anderegg, became a member of the CSO cello section.  

Zhe Deng, a member of the Columbus Symphony in 2021, joins as Second Violin. His experience includes Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra and West Virginia Symphony Orchestra as Second Violin, and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra as a substitute violinist. As a soloist, he collaborated with the University of Cincinnati CCM Concert Orchestra after placing first in the violin concerto competition. Deng has given solo performances at National Centre for the Performing Arts Beijing, The Concertgebouw and Carnegie Hall. 

Zhen Liu joins as Second Violin, a seat he also holds with Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. Liu has served as concertmaster for The Orchestra Now and Bard Conservatory Orchestra, and has performed in Carnegie Hall, Fisher Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and Symphony Space. Additionally, Liu has performed with esteemed orchestras, including San Antonio Opera Orchestra, Albany Symphony, and St. Louis, Princeton, and Suzhou symphony orchestras, as well as international music festivals. In the summer of 2024, he was appointed to play for Colorado Music Festival Orchestra under Maestro Peter Oundjian. 

Molly McDonald, also a member of Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, joins the First Violins. A native of Fairway, Kansas, she has been with Rochester Philharmonic since 2013. Before this, she was Assistant Principal Second Violin of the Canton Symphony Orchestra, and appeared with Kansas City Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, and New World Symphony. McDonald also attended many other summer festivals, including Interlochen Arts Camp, Castleman Quartet Program, Round Top Festival Institute, National Repertory Orchestra, Music Academy of the West and Tanglewood Institute. 

Kurt Munstedt joins the First Violins and has been a member of Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra since 2023. He was appointed Assistant Principal Second Violin of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra in 2022, after playing in the section since 2017, and is currently Principal Second Violin of the Boston Festival Orchestra. He has performed with the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra, Pacific Music Festival, Breckenridge Music Festival, The Sebastians, and Manhattan Chamber Players. During his tenure at the University of New Orleans, he founded its quartet-in-residence, The Lott String Quartet, the period-performance collective Rogue Baroque, and the crossover quartet Radio Bird. 

Timothy Peters spent 10 seasons as Principal Second Violin of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra and was the former associate concertmaster of Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra before joining the CSO’s second violin section. He has performed as a titled guest with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including concertmaster with the Norrlandsoperan Symfoniorkester (Sweden), Principal Second Violin with the Dresdner Philharmonie (Germany), Aalborg Symfoniorkester (Denmark), and Singapore Symphony Orchestra. He has additionally performed with Houston Ballet, Houston Grand Opera, Sarasota Opera, and the Houston, San Diego, San Antonio, and Charleston Symphony Orchestras. He has served as the concertmaster of the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra and the National Orchestral Institute. 

The CSO will continue auditions in summer 2025 for Principal Trombone, Bassoon II, Principal Harp and section Viola. Live auditions will be held at Chautauqua during the Summer Assembly. To learn more about these opportunities and the audition timeline, visit chq.org/cso-openings.