| The Cleveland Orchestra announces five musician appointments |
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| Elizabeth Fayette (Photo: Margeaux Maloney), Philip Marten (Photo: Scout Heron), Zhan Shu (Photo: Roger Mastroianni), Dustin Wilkes-Kim (Photo: Celeste Golden Andrews), and Gabriel Napoli (Photo: Devyn Glysta) CLEVELAND— The Cleveland Orchestra is excited to announce five new musician appointments to its violin and viola sections. Elizabeth Fayette joins the Orchestra as First Associate Concertmaster in May, and Philip Marten assumes the role of Associate Concertmaster in August. Zhan Shu, a first violinist with The Cleveland Orchestra since 2018, was appointed Assistant Concertmaster and began serving in the role in January. In May, Dustin Wilkes-Kim joins the second violin section, and Gabriel Napoli joins the viola section. Napoli, an alumnus of The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, becomes the seventh former member of the ensemble to earn an appointment with The Cleveland Orchestra, underscoring the strength of the organization’s education programs. Now in his 24th year as music director, Franz Welser-Möst has appointed more than half of the musicians now performing with The Cleveland Orchestra. Elizabeth Fayette, First Associate Concertmaster (Virginia M. Lindseth, PhD Chair) Violinist Elizabeth Fayette, praised by The New York Times for her “alluring, lustrous sound and seasoned virtuosity,” has a multifaceted career as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral leader. While currently based in Philadelphia, since 2023, Fayette has also spent significant time in Brazil as concertmaster of the Orquestra Filarmônica de Minas Gerais. Fayette served as first violinist of the Vega Quartet, quartet-in-residence at Emory University, from 2016 to 2020. Alongside an active concert life with the Quartet, including a recital debut at Amsterdam’s renowned Concertgebouw, she was involved in the ensemble’s mission to cultivate the next generation of music lovers. As part of their Emory residency, the Quartet collaborated with faculty across Emory’s curriculum to present interdisciplinary seminars that used music as a point of connection to a wide range of subjects. Prior to joining the Vega Quartet, Fayette was a founding member of the Sheridan Piano Trio, performing extensively throughout Denmark, Germany, and Austria. Fayette made her Carnegie Hall solo debut with conductor Alan Gilbert and the Juilliard Orchestra. Of this performance, The New York Times wrote that “she produced a ravishing sweet sound … and played with great poise, turning slightly toward the orchestra with a chamber musician’s attention to the interplay of melodic lines and the expressive color of each harmony.” Fayette has also appeared as a soloist with the Houston Symphony as a prizewinner in the Ima Hogg Competition, won Second Prize in the Young Concert Artists International Auditions, and was awarded a Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia Career Grant. She has given recitals at The Rockefeller University, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, and for the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society. In a review of her Philadelphia recital, Broad Street Review commented that “every piece proved she possesses one of the indispensable virtues of a true artist: she places her technical virtuosity at the service of her ability to grasp the essence of a composer’s vision.” As guest concertmaster, Fayette has performed with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra, Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, and Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. She also regularly appears with several dynamic collaborative music-making organizations, including NOVUS NY, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, The Knights, and the New York Classical Players. Fayette’s festival appearances include the Steans Institute, Kneisel Hall, and Music from Angel Fire, and she has performed as both a soloist and chamber musician at the Aspen Music Festival and School. She was a participant at the Marlboro Music School and Festival from 2014 to 2016, and again in 2021 and 2025. Of her Marlboro performance of the Suite from Stravinsky’s L’histoire du soldat, The Boston Globe wrote that “the playfully sinister tale centers in large part around a soldier’s violin, and Elizabeth Fayette’s incisive playing bristled with character.” Fayette has collaborated with pianists Mitsuko Uchida, Jonathan Biss, and Bruno Canino; violists Samuel Rhodes and Michael Tree; cellists Peter Stumpf and Peter Wiley; and the innovative contemporary ensemble eighth blackbird. Born into a family of musicians, all string players, Fayette received her bachelor’s from the Curtis Institute of Music, where she studied with Pamela Frank, Shmuel Ashkenasi, and Arnold Steinhardt, and her master’s from The Juilliard School as a student of Sylvia Rosenberg. She completed additional studies with Rosenberg in Juilliard’s Artist Diploma program. From 2014 to 2016, Fayette was a fellow with Ensemble Connect, a program administered by Carnegie Hall and The Juilliard School that supports young professional musicians in building careers as performers, innovative programmers, and dedicated teachers fully engaged with their communities. “I had listened to recordings of The Cleveland Orchestra since childhood, but my first time hearing the Orchestra live was at their 2012 performance of Salome at Carnegie Hall. Even from my student-ticket seat in the nosebleed section, the technical prowess and emotional commitment of the performance were impactful and inspiring. To now be part of this ensemble, which has been the artistic home of so many admired musicians past and present, feels like the gift of my musical life,” Fayette said. Philip Marten, Associate Concertmaster (Gretchen D. and Ward Smith Chair) Philip Marten previously served as first assistant concertmaster of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, acting associate concertmaster of the Kansas City Symphony, and a section member of the Kansas City Symphony. He has also appeared as guest concertmaster of the Kansas City Symphony and the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra and has been on faculty at Brevard Music Center since 2025. An active chamber musician, Marten is a founding member of the Red Door Quartet, which works to bring classical music and creative programming to various communities and schools in the Cincinnati area. He also firmly believes in the importance of community engagement. During his time in Cincinnati, he has been active with local organizations such as concertnova, The Response Project, Ascent Music, and is the founder and curator for Red Door Chamber Music. He has participated in many other collaborative projects alongside David Chan, Cho-Liang Lin, Anthony McGill, Desmond Hoebig, Benny Kim, Scott Lee, Masumi Rostad, and Jon Kimura Parker. As a soloist, he has performed with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Opera, Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, and the San Diego Youth Symphony. Earlier in his career, Marten was concertmaster of the American Youth Symphony, USC Thornton Symphony, and Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra. He was a founding member of several notable chamber ensembles, including the Rodin Trio, which earned a fellowship residency at La Jolla Music Society’s SummerFest, and the Fairway Quartet, which won fellowships to the Juilliard String Quartet Program, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, and McGill International String Quartet Academy. Other festivals attended include Music Academy of the West, Kneisel Hall, Aspen Music Festival and School, Meadowmount School of Music, and Brevard Music Festival. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music under the tutelage of Cho-Liang Lin and spent a year at the University of Southern California studying with Glenn Dicterow. In his spare time, Marten enjoys a keen interest in the sociology of music, composing, occasionally playing video games, and family life with his wife and two children. “There are few ensembles in the world with the renown of The Cleveland Orchestra, and I am thrilled to work alongside such esteemed colleagues toward its continued legacy as one of the world’s foremost musical institutions. This orchestra is comprised of musicians who demonstrate diligence, hard work, and a deep passion for music, and I look forward to contributing to this culture of excellence,” Marten said. Zhan Shu, Assistant Concertmaster (Clara G. and George P. Bickford Chair) Zhan Shu joined the first violin section of The Cleveland Orchestra in 2018 and was appointed Assistant Concertmaster by Music Director Franz Welser-Möst in January 2026. Before moving to Cleveland, Shu was a member of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra where he was acting associate concertmaster for the 2008–09 season. Shu also served as concertmaster of the Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra and Symphony of Southeast Texas, and as guest concertmaster of the Quad City Symphony Orchestra, Xi’An and Changsha symphony orchestras, and Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival Orchestra. As soloist, Shu has performed with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, West Texas Symphony, Indiana University Philharmonic, Texas Music Festival Orchestra, Mannes Orchestra, and Hunan Symphony. Shu has also participated in the Sarasota Music Festival, Toronto Summer Music, Sunflower Music Festival, and Pacific Music Festival. Shu received his early training from the preparatory school attached to the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. He is a graduate of Mannes College of Music in New York, the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston, and the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. Shu’s mentors include Xiao-Zhi Huang, Lucie Robert, Emanuel Borok, Mauricio Fuks, and Alexander Kerr. In 2021, Shu held an adjunct assistant professorship at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. Since fall 2023, he has been teaching the orchestra repertoire for violin class at Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Shu plays a c. 1874 violin by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume. “For seven seasons, I’ve been living my dream of performing with The Cleveland Orchestra. It’s both humbling and a true honor to step into the role of Assistant Concertmaster within one of the world’s finest string sections — a group whose artistry, depth of sound, and tradition inspire me every day. I’m deeply grateful to all my TCO colleagues and to Music Director Franz Welser-Möst for their trust, and I can’t wait to continue making music alongside these inspiring colleagues,” Shu said. Dustin Wilkes-Kim, Second Violin Dustin Wilkes-Kim, from Winston-Salem North Carolina, was previously a first violinist and acting assistant concertmaster with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra. He is a member of the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra and has performed with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and extensively with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Wilkes-Kim attended high school at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where early and consistent exposure to chamber and orchestral study alongside private instruction was formative. There, he studied privately with Sarah Johnson, orchestra with John Mauceri, Ransom Wilson and Jamie Allbritten and chamber music with Christina Placilla and Sheila Brown. In his freshman year, Wilkes-Kim took second place in Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra’s Youth Concerto Competition. In his sophomore year, Wilkes-Kim won the Southeast region of the MTNA competition, and, in his junior year, his quartet Jia became semi-finalists in the Fischoff Competition. Wilkes-Kim has a bachelor’s degree from the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University with private instruction from Amy Schwartz Moretti, Robert McDuffie, David Halen, and David Kim. There, he had the privilege of performing alongside Edward Aaron, Annie Fullard, Larry Dutton, Amy Schwartz Moretti, Robert McDuffie and Paul Watkins. He received chamber music coaching from Annie Fullard of the Cavani Quartet and Larry Dutton of the Emerson String Quartet. Wilkes-Kim also performed in the Rome Chamber Music Festival as part of his studies. Wilkes-Kim holds a master’s degree from Yale School of Music under Syoko Aki and Peter Oundjian who he has also worked with extensively in recent summers at the Colorado Music Festival. Wilkes-Kim has participated in numerous music festivals and programs, including the Aspen Music Festival and School, where he studied with Paul Kantor; Madeline Island Chamber Music, where he was coached by members of the Dover String Quartet and the American String Quartet; Dali Quartet International Music Festival with Domenic Salerni, Adriana Linares and Carlos Rubio; Encore Chamber Music Institute with Annie Fullard and JinJoo Cho; the New York String Orchestra Seminar with Jamie Laredo and Michael Tree; and the Meadowmount School of Music under Jan Mark Sloman and Patricia McCarty. “For me, The Cleveland Orchestra has always represented the highest musical standard to aspire to. It is deeply humbling and inspiring to become a part of this ensemble,” Wilkes-Kim said. Gabriel Napoli, Viola Gabriel Napoli previously served as associate principal viola of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Prior to his time in Cincinnati, he performed for three seasons as a fellow with the New World Symphony under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas. A native Clevelander, Napoli began violin lessons at age 4 and credits much of his ambition to pursue a music career to his time in The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra. He earned his Bachelor of Music in violin performance from Northwestern University and his Master of Music in viola performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music. His principal teachers include Almita Vamos, Robert Hanford, Robert Vernon, Mark Jackobs, and Stephen Sims. While at the New World Symphony, he received additional coaching from Michael Klotz of the Amernet String Quartet. Napoli’s summer engagements included the National Repertory Orchestra, Chautauqua Music Festival, Sarasota Music Festival, and Lakes Area Music Festival. During his graduate studies at CIM, he performed with the Akron Symphony Orchestra and appeared in chamber music collaborations with faculty artists, including Ilya Kaler and members of The Cleveland Orchestra. Early in his professional career, Napoli also performed as a substitute musician with The Cleveland Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and San Diego Symphony Orchestra. An active chamber musician, Napoli studied with the Dover Quartet, Cavani String Quartet, Peter Salaff, and members of the Vermeer Quartet. While at Northwestern, his quartet won First Prize at the WDAV Young Chamber Musicians Competition at Davidson College and First Prize at Northwestern’s Dover String Quartet Competition. While in Cincinnati, Napoli performed on the CSO’s Winstead Chamber Series and with concertnova, Ascent Music’s Summer Concert Series, the Soli Music Society, and Linton Chamber Music Series. He has also taught as a coach for the Ascent Chamber Music Festival and for the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra. Napoli is also a founding member of the Red Door Quartet, through which he has performed extensively throughout the Cincinnati community, including outreach appearances in local schools. “The sound of The Cleveland Orchestra has been a musical guiding star throughout my life. To now join as a colleague is thrilling and deeply meaningful. The Orchestra has shaped me from the very beginning and set the standard I aspired to follow in my career. I look forward to contributing to the extraordinary tradition of music-making that first inspired me,” Napoli said. |
