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BSO Concertmaster Lowe Retires After 35 Years

Marco Borggreve
/
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Malcolm Lowe

Concertmaster Malcolm Lowe is retiring after 35 years with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Lowe, 66, is the 10th concertmaster in the orchestra’s history, and only the third since 1920. He tells WAMC that the seeds of his departure were sown after returning to the stage this summer following a brain injury.

“I had a different perspective after my injury on everything, and after 35 years I was enjoying things so much and I had this internal process going on inside me while playing, things beckoning me to look elsewhere,” said Lowe.

A concertmaster is second only to the conductor in the orchestra, leading it through pre-concert tuning and performing the violin solos. The BSO says it will immediately begin a search for his replacement.

Josh Landes has been WAMC's Berkshire Bureau Chief since February 2018, following stints at WBGO Newark and WFMU East Orange. A passionate advocate for Western Massachusetts, Landes was raised in Pittsfield and attended Hampshire College in Amherst, receiving his bachelor's in Ethnomusicology and Radio Production. His free time is spent with his cat Harry, experimental electronic music, and exploring the woods.
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