Renowned Minnesota violinist to join IU music faculty

whitney smith

September 16, 2008 by whitney smith

0 votes

Jorja Fleezanis, the veteran concertmaster of the Minnesota Orchestra, will be the next high-profile instrumentalist to join the faculty at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

Fleezanis, who has been first-chair first violinist of the Minneapolis-based orchestra since 1989, will join the IU-Bloomington faculty in fall 2009.

IU administrators have been recruiting a long series of classical music luminaries since 2004 to replace aging faculty members. Previous hires have included internationally known conductor Leonard Slatkin, concert pianist André Watts, concert violinist Joshua Bell and Alexander Kerr, former concertmaster of Amsterdam's Concertgebouw Orchestra.

Fleezanis could not immediately be reached for comment. Gwyn Richards, dean of the Jacobs School, flew to Minneapolis Tuesday to meet with Fleezanis and the local press.

"We're just excited to have Jorja come to IU from the (music) profession," Richards said. "I think she has decided to end this phase of her professional life because she wants to shape future generations. She has a real passion for that."

Fleezanis, who teaches at the University of Minnesota, won acclaim from the press in the mid-1990s, when she premiered the Violin Concerto by John Adams, composer of the opera "Nixon in China." Previously, Fleezanis performed with the San Francisco Symphony.

In recent years, Richards has been working to establish a "second generation" of star faculty members at the IU School of Music. The first generation, largely hired during the 1950s and '60s, included pianist Menahem Pressler, cellist Janos Starker, jazz educator David Baker and the late violinist Josef Gingold.

Forum: Music

Tags: 

Music, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, arts&culture, Jorja Fleezanis

Follow this thread

3 comments

Jon Silpayamanant
Jon Silpayamanant, September 16
0 votes

I hadn't known that Slatkin was at IU. I had just asked my friend yesterday (while visiting him outside of DC) if Slatkin was still conducting the National SYmphony Orchestra. He said "no" but really hadn't kept up with where Slatkin was curently.

whitney smith
whitney smith, September 16
0 votes

Slatkin has been in the process of winding down his long career at the National. Like Joshua Bell's gig at IU, Slatkin's appointment is as a part-time lecturer. Both men travel to Bloomington occasionally to coach, perform or conduct. Other newcomers, such as Jorja Fleezanis and Alex Kerr, are full-time faculty.

Jon Silpayamanant
Jon Silpayamanant, September 16
0 votes

Ah--that's makes more sense with someone of Slatkin's (and Bell's) stature. Do you know if he's holding any guest conducting positions?

or register to leave a comment.

Logo_colophon Print_logo

© 2008 The Indianapolis Star Media Group.
All rights reserved.

Use of this site signifies your agreement to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, updated December 2008.

Partners
The Indianapolis Star Media Group