We had a spate of auditions at the end of last season, and the results netted us three new musicians who are all now settled in Portland and playing with the orchestra. They are Principal timpanist Jonathan Greeney, oboist and English hornist Kyle Mustain, and violist Silu Fei. Here’s a little info about each:
Jonathan Greeney, principal timpani – Greeney earned a graduate degree in percussion performance at Cleveland State University following undergraduate study at Johns Hopkins University’s Peabody Institute in Baltimore. From 2006 to 2008, he was assistant principal timpanist for the Orquestra Sinfonica de Xalapa in Veracruz, Mexico. Greeney also has performed with the Cleveland Baroque Orchestra and the Youngstown and Toledo symphonies in Ohio.
Kyle Mustain, oboe and English horn – Mustain, a Virginia native, earned his master’s degree in music at Yale University and bachelor’s at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music. Before winning the Oregon Symphony’s audition in spring 2010, he played English horn for two seasons with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Minas Gerais in Brazil and had been a member of the Indianapolis, Richmond and Houston symphonies. Since 2004, Mustain also has performed each summer with the Santa Fe Opera orchestra.
Silu Fei, viola – Fei holds an artist diploma from Colburn School Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles and an undergraduate degree in viola performance from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music in China. He joins the Oregon Symphony following a decade of experience with both symphony and youth orchestras in Asia and the United States, including the San Francisco Symphony.