After multiyear search, BSO names new concertmaster
Nathan Cole fills a seat that has been vacant since the 2019 retirement of Malcolm Lowe
the boston Symphony orchestra’s longest and most high-stakes game of musical chairs is finally over.
for the past five years, the orchestra has been conducting an extensive and secretive search for its next concertmaster, or principal first violinist. on monday, the bSo announced that American violinist Nathan cole, 46, will be the 11th concertmaster in the orchestra’s 133-year history.
When longtime concertmaster malcolm lowe retired in September 2019 after 35 years in the charles munch chair, it was a logical assumption the orchestra would quickly search for and choose a replacement. A concertmaster must not only be an adept and confident performer, but must also serve as an ambassador between the musicians of the orchestra and whoever’s on the podium, whether that’s music director Andris Nelsons or any number of guests. the position had never been empty for more than a year in the history of the orchestra.
because of the coViD-19 pandemic, auditions were not held until 2021, and a concertmaster still had not been chosen after three rounds of auditions from 2021 to 2023. in the meantime, leadership of the string section fell to the associate and assistant concertmasters, with tamara Smirnova, Alexander Velinzon, and Elita Kang all stepping up on numerous occasions.
the most recent round, the fourth, involved the slate of candidates performing as guest concertmasters with the orchestra throughout the 2024 spring season at Symphony hall; this was also the only round after the installment of orchestra president and cEo chad Smith.
cole is currently first associate concertmaster of the los Angeles philharmonic. he appeared as a guest concertmaster with the bSo in January, when the orchestra performed Shostakovich’s opera “lady macbeth of mtsensk” with bSo music director Andris Nelsons in concert at Symphony hall and carnegie hall.
“We look forward to embracing his leadership within the orchestra, exploring our joint musical values, and partnering on our artistic journey together,” Nelsons said in a statement provided by the orchestra. he also mentioned the “immense pleasure” it was collaborating with cole on “lady macbeth”.
in a phone interview from los Angeles, cole said he noticed Nelsons’s ability to make the players feel like “we’re all in this together” during his week with the bSo. “i got the immediate sense that he is really there for the music, and that is pretty rare from someone with that major of a position and that big of a profile.”
on stage and off, the concertmaster is one of the most visible members of the orchestra. the concertmaster sits in the front row, directly to the left of the conductor, in full view of the audience. though the principal oboist usually provides the tuning note, the concertmaster cues that tuning. the concertmaster also shakes hands with the conductor and guest soloists when they appear onstage and when the music ends, as a symbolic gesture of respect and cooperation from the entire orchestra.
“in the end, the concertmaster represents the body of the orchestra,” said conductor Vimbayi Kaziboni, an assistant professor of orchestral studies at boston conservatory at berklee.
those ceremonial duties are just the beginning of a concertmaster’s responsibilities. As bSo concertmaster, cole will decide bowings, or how the string players’ bows move during any given passage of music. he’ll perform solos within larger orchestral pieces, as well as artistic direct the boston Symphony chamber players, which is made up of principal players from the orchestra.
A concertmaster must be a “very collaborative artist,” explained Kaziboni, cooperating with both the conductor and the other musicians. there’s also a political dimension to the role. As one example, Kaziboni pointed to bowings and how the concertmaster must “get a sense of what the orchestra needs, and how the orchestra wants to proceed,” serving as the orchestra’s representative with the conductor.
cole said that he “fell in love with the sound” of the bSo during his time as guest concertmaster in January. “So much of the orchestra’s sound has to do with the space they play in, and Symphony hall has been my favorite hall for quite some time,” cole said.
that’s been true since “20-some years ago,” when cole auditioned for a different position with the bSo. “that audition didn’t go my way,” he said, but he was “blown away” by the acoustics of Symphony hall. “Some halls are more generous than others, and the sound you get back [in Symphony hall] really feels like part of the sound you make,” he said. “it allows you to play with such a huge dynamic range.”
During his audition in January, cole said, “it just felt very natural for me to fit into that sound, particularly with Andris leading, and the support i had from my colleagues onstage couldn’t have been better.”
in a phone interview, bSo players’ committee chair todd Seeber said it was “such a relief ” to have a concertmaster in place, especially since there are still vacancies in the violin section to fill. “We’re hoping the leadership will pay off in terms of filling positions as efficiently as possible.”
the child of two flutists, cole grew up in lexington, Ky., before attending the curtis institute of music. he started his personal website, natesviolin.com, as a public practice journal and blog in 2001. Now, it’s a hub for his educational offerings, including courses on violin technique, written articles, and video essays with topics such as “why the best players don’t always win auditions.”
‘Symphony Hall has been my favorite hall for quite some time.’
NAthAN colE, new BSO concertmaster
before accepting his current position in los Angeles, cole was a member of the chicago Symphony orchestra and the principal second violin of the Saint paul chamber orchestra. he is married to los Angeles philharmonic violinist Akiko tarumoto, with whom he hosts the “Stand partners for life” classical music podcast. the couple has three preteen children.
in a phone interview monday, los Angeles philharmonic principal cellist Robert demaine said that he was in the “first stage of grief ” about losing cole as a colleague. there were “not enough superlatives” to express his feelings toward cole as “a violinist, a craftsman, and an artist,” demaine said. “he’s a perfect balance of the qualities that are needed in a concertmaster and a leader, and he handles himself in such an evenhanded and self-assured way.”
“he’s actually a gourmet cook, too!,” demaine added with a laugh. “there’s a certain correlate to anything he does.”
in cole, demaine sees many similarities with former bSo concertmaster Joseph Silverstein, with whom cole and demaine both worked on several occasions separately before Silverstein’s death in 2015. “Nate is very direct in his music-making. he’s always immaculately prepared,” demaine said. “his playing is so free of mannerisms. it’s honest, and very noble, with this gentle, quiet charisma — and authority. All of these qualities were abundant in Joey.”
cole will split his time between los Angeles and boston for the 2024-25 season before moving to boston full time in fall 2025. cole’s first official appearance as bSo concertmaster will be this summer at tanglewood, where he’ll play the prominent violin solos in Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Scheherazade” July 12. it will be his first time playing at tanglewood, which he visited in the early 2000s to see a bSo performance.
“i can’t wait to see it again,” he said. in hiring cole, the bSo has “made an enlightened choice,” demaine said. “And i’m very mad at them, because they’re taking him from us.”