The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra has appointed David Radzynski, a graduate student pursing an artist diploma in violin performance at Park University’s International Center for Music, as its concertmaster. Radzynski, from Columbus, Ohio, was selected following an audition that ended on Dec. 19 in Tel Aviv. Radzynski will assume his position in March 2015.
Thirty violinists were invited to compete for the position through a pre-screening process by the orchestra. Radzynski, one of four finalists, earned the appointment after performing Johannes Brahms’ “Violin Concerto” alongside the IPO and maestro Zubin Mehta. He was announced as unanimous winner by the jury after only five minutes of deliberation.
“I am still trying to digest all that is happening,” said Radzynski. “It is such an incredible honor. I would not have succeeded if it weren’t for Ben Sayevich and the incredible support I have received at the International Center for Music.”
“From the first time I heard David play, I knew he was a major talent,” said Sayevich, distinguished Lithuanian-Israeli violinist and professor of music/violin in the ICM. “I am so thrilled that he is being recognized by world-renowned musicians such as Mehta.”
Radzynski, who earned a graduate certificate in violin performance from Park in May, won the Columbus Symphony Orchestra Young Musicians Competition in 2001, Radzynski later appeared as soloist with the Polish National Philharmonic in Warsaw, and was awarded first prize in the solo competition (senior division) of the American String Teachers’ Association.
The IPO, founded in 1936 by Bronislaw Huberman, performs multiple series, including an annotated Youth Concert Series, concerts for the “Arts for the People” project throughout Israel and special concerts for the Israeli Defense Forces at their outposts. The IPO also tours the world’s cultural centers and prestigious festivals annually, and contributes to the absorption of new immigrant musicians. The orchestra has hosted many of the world’s greatest conductors and soloists, while developing Israeli artists and young talents throughout Israel and abroad.
The International Center for Music at Park University trains and educates the next generation of accomplished musicians for careers in music at the highest level, in a focused and creative atmosphere with an international faculty of renowned excellence. Established in 2003 under the guidance of renowned pianist and gold medalist of the 2001 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition Stanislav Ioudenitch, the ICM is a premier institution for advanced study in piano and string performance.