New appointments include seven full-time musicians, six musicians with long-term contracts, and two African American Orchestra Fellows
Detroit, (September 22, 2025) – The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) and Music Director Jader Bignamini are excited to announce the appointment of seven new orchestra musicians. Following successful auditions, these musicians will join the DSO for the 2025–26 season: Second Oboe Erik Andrusyak, Contrabassoon and Bassoon Ryan Turano, Principal Horn (Christine and David Provost Chair) Edmund Rollett, Utility Horn Patrick Walle, and Violins Connor Chaikowsky, Tianyu Liu, and Yu-Ming Ma.
The DSO is also pleased to welcome six musicians with long-term contracts including Acting Second Flute (Morton and Brigitte Harris Chair) Emily Bieker, Acting Second Clarinet Kamalia Freyling, Acting Assistant Principal Horn Cara Kizer, Acting Horn (returning) Ben Wulfman, Acting Horn (returning) Kristi Crago, and Acting Assistant Principal Trumpet Justin Emerich.
The DSO is proud to continue its African American Orchestra Fellowship program by welcoming fellows Donovan Bown (oboe) and Triniti Rives (clarinet). The African American Orchestra Fellowship, launched in 1990, is designed to enhance the career development of African American musicians. Fellows perform in the orchestra, work closely with coaches and mentors, participate in mock auditions, and represent the DSO in the community.
“Each successful audition is a testament to the tremendous dedication of Jader, our audition committees, operations team, and candidates,” said DSO Vice President and General Manager Kathryn Ginsburg. “We are delighted to welcome these outstanding musicians and fellows to Detroit, and look forward to beginning the 2025–26 season with an infusion of talent and energy.”
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About Erik Andrusyak
Erik Andrusyak joins the DSO as Second Oboe. Prior to this appointment, he served as Co-Principal Oboe of the United States Coast Guard Band, and held principal oboe positions with the Hartford Symphony, the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra, and the Elgin Symphony. As a soloist, he has performed internationally with the U.S. Coast Guard Band, Connecticut Symphony, Masterworks Festival Orchestra, Eastern Connecticut Symphony, the Yellow River Music Festival, and was featured in the Civic Centennial Celebration Bach Marathon—broadcast live on WFMT—with Yo-Yo Ma serving as creative consultant.
About Ryan Turano
Ryan Turano joins the DSO in 2025 as contrabassoonist. In May of 2023, Turano won first prize in the Sherman Walt Merit Competition. Turano has performed in some of the most prestigious concert halls in South America and Europe, including the Berlin Konzerthaus, Dvořák Hall, the Mozarteum, the Zoltán Kodály Center, the Musikverein, and the Concertgebouw.
About Edmund Rollett
Edmund Rollett joins the DSO as Principal Horn, following a long tenure with the Utah Symphony as Associate Principal, including seven seasons as Acting Principal. Prior to his appointment in Utah, he served as principal horn of the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de México and the Orquesta Filarmónica de la Ciudad de México. A member of the Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra since 2018, Rollett is active as a clinician and chamber musician.
About Patrick Walle
Patrick previously served as Acting Principal Horn with the DSO in the 2024–25 season and now joins the orchestra full time as Utility Horn. He graduated from the Eastman School of Music with a Performer’s Certificate in 2009. From there, he went on to become a member of the Rochester Philharmonic, before moving to Nashville in 2013 to play Associate Principal/Third Horn.
About Connor Chaikowsky
Connor Chaikowsky joins the DSO’s violin section. Prior to this appointment, Chaikowsky spent two seasons with the New World Symphony, serving as concertmaster for several programs, and has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the Grand Teton Music Festival. In 2021, he created and performed Le Boeuf en Concert, a multidisciplinary video concert inspired by the history and influences of Milhaud’s Le Boeuf sur le Toit, which was featured in the Houston Chronicle.
About Tianyu Liu
Tianyu Liu joins the DSO as section violinist. Liu’s musical achievements span multiple continents and prestigious platforms, including recent victories at the Naftzger Young Artist Competition string division, the Sigma Alpha Lota Competition at Chautauqua Institution, Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Young Artist Performance String Competition, the Menuhin Competition, and the Ronald Sachs International Music Competition. Liu is currently pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Michigan under the guidance of Aaron Berofsky, and previously earned his Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School.
About Yu-Ming Ma
Yu-Ming Ma joins the DSO as section violinist. His chamber music experience includes leading festivals such as the Encore Chamber Music Festival, Kneisel Hall, Taos Chamber Music Festival, and the 2024 Music@Menlo International Program. Recent appointments include guest artist at the Tongyeong International Music Festival in Korea, principal second violin during the 50th Anniversary of the New York String Orchestra Seminar in 2018, concertmaster of the Shepherd School Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, and substitute violinist with the Houston Symphony.
About the DSO
The acclaimed Detroit Symphony Orchestra is known for trailblazing performances, collaborations with the world’s foremost musical artists, and a deep connection to its city. Led by Music Director Jader Bignamini since 2020, the DSO makes its home at historic Orchestra Hall within the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center, offering a robust performance schedule that features classical, pops, jazz, and family concerts, plus community performances. Enrico Lopez-Yañez was named Principal Pops Conductor in 2023, trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard serves as the orchestra’s Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair, and Tabita Berglund began her tenure as Principal Guest Conductor in the 2024–25 season. A dedication to broadcast innovation and technology began in 1922, when the DSO became the first orchestra in the world to present a live radio broadcast of a concert and continues today with the groundbreaking Live from Orchestra Hall series of free webcasts.
The DSO’s distinguished history of recordings—many led by its renowned music directors—spans nearly a century, beginning with the orchestra’s first 78 rpm singles with Ossip Gabrilowitsch released on the Victrola label in 1928. A steady recording output has continued since then, with highlights including more than 20 releases with Paul Paray for Mercury’s Living Presence series, and 27 under the baton of Neeme Järvi, mostly on the Chandos label. In the 1970s, the DSO took part in the historic Black Composers Series for Columbia Records led by its then-Associate Conductor Paul Freeman and later made several acclaimed recordings with Antal Doráti for the Decca label. More recently, under the direction of Leonard Slatkin, the DSO recorded music by Rachmaninoff, Copland, and John Williams for the Naxos label, earning its first GRAMMY® nomination in 2017 for Copland’s Third Symphony / Three Latin American Sketches. The first recording with Jader Bignamini, of Wynton Marsalis’s Blues Symphony, was released in March 2025 on the Pentatone label.
Since its first school concerts a century ago, and particularly since the founding of the Civic Youth Ensembles in 1970, the DSO has been a national leader in bringing the benefits of music education to students, teachers, and families in Detroit and surrounding communities. The DSO remains committed to expanding its participation in the growth and well-being of Detroit through programs like its Detroit Neighborhood Initiative—cultural events co-created with community partners and residents—and Detroit Harmony, a promise to provide an instrument and instruction to any student in the city who wants to learn. With unwavering support from the people of Detroit, the DSO actively pursues a mission to impact lives through the power of unforgettable musical experiences.