Minnesota Varsity: Where are They Now? - Julian Maddox

Where Are They Now? spotlights Minnesota Varsity Featured and Showcase Artists from 2011 to 2016.

Violinist Julian Maddox from Minneapolis was a 2015 Minnesota Varsity Featured Artist. He recently got in touch with Classical MPR's Christine Sweet to share his latest news.

Julian Maddox, violin, 2015 Featured Artist

Age: 19

Hometown: Minneapolis

Attends: Cleveland Institute of Music, Cleveland, Ohio I can hardly believe that my time at MPR's Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser Recording Studios was just about a year and a half ago, since the memory is now just as vivid and fond as ever! Quite a lot has happened since my time with Minnesota Varsity, and I think that it was a very informative and helpful developmental experience in learning some of the skills that are vital to professionalism — one of the most important things that carries into each and every day for me as an aspiring violinist.

I am now entering my second year at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where I have the privilege of studying with Cleveland Orchestra Concertmaster William Preucil Jr. Whether I am watching him lead the orchestra in rehearsals and concerts, or playing solo repertoire in my private lessons and studio classes, I never fail to hang on to each and every word he offers. I have to add that having the Cleveland Orchestra right down the street is just awesome — plain and simple. Students at the conservatory have the opportunity to attend every single concert, and that is something I do almost every weekend. The colors and sounds that leap off the stage have taken my breath away more times than I can count, and being able to look across the balcony and catch a classmate's eye with jaws dropped when our favorite soloists walk out to perform is unbelievable. Being a part of CIM's chamber music program, led by Peter Salaff of the Cleveland Quartet and the faculty of the Cavani String Quartet, is an incredible opportunity as well; however, a very special type of musicianship is discovered when all of these experiences come together.

I have also had many performance opportunities available to me in the last year or so. I performed seven programs as a member of the CIM Orchestra, all of which allowed for me to delve into incredible repertoire. I also performed in Salzburg, Austria as a participant in the Mozarteum International Summer Academy 2016, where I also attended and played in numerous masterclasses. I was very grateful to play concerts with the Ladyslipper Ensemble, as well as in the Canton Symphony Orchestra: performing in these professional ensembles really put my entire skill set to the test as a violinist, as a musician, and as an individual. I was incredibly grateful to attend the National Orchestral Institute for its 2016 season. As a member of this festival orchestra, I was able to perform six concerts over its four-week session-one of which was professionally recorded by Naxos for a 2017 release. Perhaps the most special performance to me personally, however, was sitting associate concertmaster on the festival orchestra's final concert: a program featuring Sibelius' Second Symphony conducted by none other than Minnesota's own Osmo Vänskä.