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WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA ORCHESTRA
Heinz Fricke, Music Director

Maestro Heinz Fricke

Maestro Heinz Fricke (Conductor) is the music director of Washington National Opera. Since his appointment in 1993, the company has seen him conduct numerous productions including Parsifal, Der Rosenkavalier, Don Giovanni, Salome, Die Walküre, Il trovatore, and Die Zauberflöte. He previously held the position of music director of the Berlin State Opera (1961-92) and the Norwegian National Opera (1984-90). Maestro Fricke has made many recordings of both operatic and symphonic repertoire and has frequently conducted at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Bayerische Staatsoper München, Wiener Staatsoper, and Hamburgische Staatsoper. He has also conducted the major symphony orchestras of Europe, South America, Japan, and Australia. In 1998, Maestro Fricke debuted at Covent Garden conducting Parsifal with Plácido Domingo, which he also conducted on that company’s tour to Rome. Maestro Fricke’s company debut was with Der fliegende Holländer in 1992.  In 2007, he conducted Die Walküre for WNO’s Ring cycle, and he will conduct Der fliegende Holländer and Elektra with the company during the 2007-2008 season.  Maestro Fricke recently celebrated the 60th anniversary of his conducting debut.

Violin I
Oleg Rylatko, Concertmaster
Eric Lee, Associate Concertmaster
Zino Bogachek**+
Joan Cataldo
Michelle Kim
Karen Lowry-Tucker
Susan Midkiff
Margaret Thomas
Charlie Whitten

Violin II
Julia Grueninger, Principal
Joel Fuller, Assistant Principal
Richard Chang+
Xi Chen
Jessica Dan Fan
Martha Kaufman
Timothy Macek
Victoria Noyes

Viola
Shelley Coss, Principal
Evelyn Harpham, Assistant Principal
Philippe Chao+
Leon Neal
Elizabeth Pulju-Owen
Uri Wassertzug

Cello
Amy Frost Baumgarten, Principal
Elizabeth Davis, Assistant Principal
Ignacio Alcover+
Amy Ward Butler
Timothy H. Butler
Igor Zubkovsky

Bass
Robert D'Imperio, Principal
Francis Carnovale, Assistant Principal
John Ricketts

Flute
Adria Sternstein Foster, Principal
Stephani Stang-McCusker, Assistant Principal

John Lagerquist

Flute/Piccolo
John Lagerquist

Oboe
Igor Leschishin, Principal
Carole Libelo, Assistant Principal
Kathleen Golding

English Horn
Carole Libelo

 

Clarinet
David Jones, Principal
Lora Ferguson, Assistant Principal
Stephen Bates

Bass Clarinet
Stephen Bates

Bassoon
Donald Shore, Principal
Christopher Jewell, Assistant Principal
Nancy Stutsman

Contrabassoon
Nancy Stutsman

Horn
Gregory Drone, Principal
John Peiffer, Assistant Principal
Robert Odmark
Peter de Boor
Geoffrey Pilkington

Trumpet
Tim White, Principal
Christopher Tranchitella, Assistant Principal
Michael Rossi

Trombone
Lee Rogers, Principal
Donald King, Assistant Principal
Stephen Dunkel

Bass Trombone
Stephen Dunkel

Tuba/Cimbasso
Michael Bunn, Principal

Timpani
Jonathan Rance, Principal

Greg Akagi, Assistant Principal

Percussion
John Spirtas, Principal
Greg Akagi

Harp
Susan Robinson, Principal

ADMINISTRATION

Orchestra Personnel & Operations Manager
Aaron Doty

Orchestra Librarian
Shelley Friedman

+ Starts rotation in alphabetical order

** On leave