May 21, 2004
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Portland, Ore. … Amy Schwartz Moretti, valedictorian of her class at The Cleveland Institute of Music and concertmaster of The Florida Orchestra for the last five years, is the new concertmaster of the Oregon Symphony, Music Director Carlos Kalmar announced today. Moretti’s appointment concludes a season-long search; she will join the orchestra in time to open the 2004-2005 season in August.
“Finally!” said Carlos, “we have our new concertmaster. Everybody has to know how thorough our process was; we spent an entire year meticulously looking for the right candidate.
“I’m really excited and looking forward to working with Amy,” he said. “She has all the skills and talents of a great concertmaster: brilliant violin playing; a dedication to her work; and strong leadership skills. I am sure she will be a very good communicator in the community and a great asset to the orchestra.”
“I am excited about joining the Oregon Symphony family and making my new home in the beautiful city of Portland,” said Moretti. “The energy and enthusiasm surrounding Carlos Kalmar and the orchestra are extraordinary and I can't wait to be a part of it. Carlos’ dynamic leadership on the podium is inspiring,” she added. “I look forward to collaborating with him and the wonderful musicians of the Oregon Symphony.”
Moretti was the only candidate who earned a place by winning a national audition; the other 10 candidates were invited based on their reputations in the industry, said Search Committee Co-chair and Principal Viola Joel Belgique. Her initial appearance with the orchestra, for December Baroque concerts in which she soloed in Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons,” featured a guest conductor so did not allow her to meet nor work with Carlos. The Search Committee invited her to return as a finalist, as the guest concertmaster for season-ending performances of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, “Resurrection.”
“She jumped through a lot of hoops to win the position,” said Belgique. “She was a committee favorite from the beginning and well deserves the position.” Belgique’s Search Committee Co-Chairs were Principal Cello Nancy Ives and Violin Ron Blessinger.
“The last time I saw the orchestra this excited about a candidate,” said Ives, “was for a certain music director candidate from Vienna. We feel an artistic compatibility with Amy and it will be a joy to work with her.”
Moretti will make her solo debut with the Symphony playing Saint-Saens’ Introduction & Rondo capriccioso on the Nov. 19 Sundays at Two concert: “Dreams for the Daytime.”
Violinist Amy Schwartz Moretti has been lauded by critics as “thoroughly impressive in beauty and maturity of tone and technical facility” as well as for her “luminous stage presence.” The American Record Guide hailed her as the “brilliant soloist” during her 2002-03 season performances of the Barber Violin Concerto with the Florida Orchestra. She is completing her fifth season as concertmaster of the Florida Orchestra and performs in a variety of small ensembles with the Florida Orchestra Chamber Players and the Phoenix Chamber Music Society as well as the Moretti-Polera-Kluksdahl Piano Trio. She is Co-founder and Artistic Director of the Bay Area Music, Inc. Summer Chamber Music Workshop, an intensive two-week experience for young musicians held at The Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg, Florida. Recently, she has been appearing as guest concertmaster with the New York Pops in Carnegie Hall.
She was first-prize winner of the National Solo Competition of the American String Teachers Association. She has won prizes in the Irving M. Klein International String Competition, D’Angelo Young Artist Competition for Strings and the Washington International Competition. She began playing the violin at the age of four, making her solo debut at 12 with the Winston-Salem Symphony. She went on to win first place in concerto competitions with the North Carolina Symphony, the Richmond Symphony, the Cleveland Institute Orchestra, among others, and was guest soloist for a Carnegie Hall appearance performing the Mozart Violin Concerto No.5 with the New York Youth Symphony. In December, 2003, she was guest concertmaster and soloist with the Oregon Symphony performing Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, Robert King conducting. She appears annually in concerto performances with the Florida Orchestra for their Masterworks Concert Series. Most recently, she gave a critically acclaimed performance of the Beethoven Violin Concerto under the direction of Stefan Sanderling.
As a student of Donald Weilerstein, she earned her Bachelor and Master of Music from The Cleveland Institute of Music, where she was valedictorian. Other distinguished teachers who influenced her development are Zaven Melikian of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Margaret Pardee of The Juilliard School, and Joanne Bath of East Carolina University. Summer activities have included the Isaac Stern Chamber Music Workshop at Carnegie Hall and the Aspen Music Festival Center for Advanced Quartet Studies. She has appeared as a chamber musician in both Carnegie Hall and Weill Recital Hall, and at the Aspen, Margess International of Switzerland, and Sarasota music festivals.
