Departure will leave big gap in violin section

Jorja Fleezanis, the longest-tenured concertmaster in Minnesota Orchestra history, will leave the organization in June to teach at Indiana University. Fleezanis, whose work was distinguished by a visceral style and rigorous dedication to preparation, begins her 20th season with the orchestra this weekend.

"It feels like a good, long time," she said during an interview late Tuesday in her office.

Fleezanis told her colleagues the news after a morning rehearsal Tuesday. There are several Indiana alumni in the orchestra, and she said percussionist Brian Mount started singing the school song.

"I could not have felt more support and joy," she said. "For them to applaud me was a moment I will never forget."

Fleezanis, 56, has played a key role in the orchestra's history. She was its first woman concertmaster, a promoter of contemporary music and articulate ambassador in the community.

"She's been tireless in making herself available to everyone and she is a very beloved figure in this community and justifiably so," said Basil Reeve, principal oboe and a longtime friend.

A concertmaster is first chair of the violin section, leads the orchestra in tuning and is considered second in command to the music director. Fleezanis' final appearances as concertmaster will be June 11-13 in Beethoven's "Missa Solemnis" with Music Director Osmo Vänskä.

The school had pursued Fleezanis for several years, said Dean Gwyn Richards, who cited Fleezanis' passion and breadth of experience as compelling qualities.

Principal cellist Anthony Ross, an Indiana grad, said he had an inkling when Fleezanis rose to address the orchestra on Tuesday.

"I think many people were shocked, but I have a lot of friends on the faculty at Indiana, and I knew how hard they were coming after her," Ross said. "I'm happy for her that she's starting a new chapter and sad for the orchestra. We're losing a star. This has been a really long, special chapter in our history. She is a very special artistic animal."

De Waart protégé

Former Music Director Edo de Waart brought Fleezanis to Minnesota in 1989. They had worked together at the San Francisco Symphony. She quickly established her credentials in the orchestra and in the community as an advocate for music and as an educator at the University of Minnesota School of Music.

"She has been a very important part of this orchestra's life," Vänskä said Tuesday afternoon. "A concertmaster is much more than an official and formal position. She is a partner, a good friend, and we have had a great time."

Both he and Fleezanis mentioned the orchestra's recordings of the Beethoven symphonies as one of their greatest accomplishments.

"I walk away with the incredible Beethoven cycle that we recorded with a demanding music director and a first-class recording company," Fleezanis said.

In 1994, Fleezanis made headlines by premiering John Adams' Violin Concerto -- a work commissioned for her by the orchestra -- with De Waart leading the orchestra. In November 2002, Fleezanis again introduced a violin concerto composed for her on commission from the Minnesota Orchestra: Sir John Tavener's "Ikon of Eros."

"I know I will come back here many times," Fleezanis said. "I always felt at home with this community."

"I want to keep it open as possible, to test how interesting this orchestra is right now in the market," he said. "Her timing is very good because we have time to prepare. She is doing this with great style, but that is Jorja."

Fleezanis grew up in Detroit, the daughter of Greek immigrants. She studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Cincinnati Conservatory and later won a position in the Chicago Symphony. She left Chicago to serve as concertmaster of the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and, ultimately, associate concertmaster of the San Francisco Symphony. Fleezanis is married to musicologist, lecturer and writer Michael Steinberg.