José Maria Blumenschein, violin

Co-concertmaster in the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, violinist José Maria Blumenschein joined The Philadelphia Orchestra as associate concertmaster at the start of the 2007-08 season. He has performed with the Brazilian Symphony (OSB) in Rio de Janeiro and the Symphony Orchestra of the Claudio Santoro National Theater in Brazil. In Germany he has performed with the Baden-Baden Philharmonic and the Georgian Chamber Orchestra. Mr. Blumenschein has appeared as soloist in Germany, France, Italy, Brazil, and the United States. His honors include third prize and the public prize at the Tibor Varga International Violin Competition, third prize at the Louis Spohr International Competition for Young Violinists in Weimar, first prizes at the national “Jugend musiziert” competitions in Germany, and several prizes at the Carl Flesch Academy in Baden-Baden. He has also won the Nelson Freire Competition in Brazil. Mr. Blumenschein is a founding member of the Vertigo String Quartet, which was awarded first prize at the International Competition of the Duchi d’Acquaviva in Italy in 2006. Born in 1985, Mr. Blumenschein received his first violin lesson at the age of four in Freiburg, Germany. In 2001 he was accepted to the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with conductor and violinist Joseph Silverstein.