InTune

As part of the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s efforts to make orchestra membership more accessible for a wider range of people, the organization has just launched the Susan W. and Stephen D. Paine BSO Resident Fellowship Program, which was created to give up-and-coming musicians from historically-underrepresented backgrounds in American orchestras a pathway into the orchestra field. The program will also provide the appointees training and mentorship opportunities, as well as educational and community engagement experience, and gives them the opportunity to play with both the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops orchestras throughout the current season, both in Symphony Hall and at Tanglewood. A successful tenure in the program also automatically pushes the Fellows into the semifinals of BSO auditions for open positions in their sections to secure a permanent position with the orchestra.

This year, the BSO Resident Fellowship Program welcomes violist Leonardo Vásquez Chacón and double bassist Andres Vela to join the organization for the season.

Originally from Lima, Peru, Leonardo Vásquez Chacón was introduced to classical music by his parents and decided to pursue music as a career while in his first year of medical school, favoring harmony and music history over biology and anatomy. The violist, who has twice been a Tanglewood Music Center Fellow and has performed with the center’s chamber music program, holds degrees from Indiana University and Bard University, and was a principal in the Orchestra Now at the latter university. In addition to his educational performance experience, he has also performed with the Evansville Philharmonic and Owensboro Symphony and has participated in chamber music programs with the Orchestra Now, in Jacobs School of Music under the Pacifica Quartet. Chacón’s musical talents have also extended back to Peru, where he has been a guest artist in the International Chamber Music Festival and a soloist with both the National Youth Symphony and the National Symphony Orchestra of Peru.

Double Bassist Andres Vela, from Edinburg, Texas, will occupy the Volpe Family Chair in the orchestra. Though this appointment is new, he is also not new to the organization, as he was a Tanglewood Music Center Fellow this past summer. Vela has also participated in the Music Academy of the West, the Texas Music Festival, and the Aspen Music Festival. His accolades thus far in his musical career include a first prize win at the 2018 Cynthia Woods Mitchell Young Artist Competition and placing as a semifinalist in the 2021 Sphinx Competition, a national competition that provides mentorship and performance opportunities to young Black and Latinx classical string players. The double bassist holds degrees from Rice University and the University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley.

As the BSO further develops the program in the context of its comprehensive Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) plans, it will create formal goals, outcomes, and metrics to evaluate its impact. The application and selection process for the BSO Resident Fellowship Program was overseen by a committee of orchestra musicians, members of the BSO's executive team, as well as Eunice and Julian Cohen President and CEO Gail Samuel and Ray and Maria Stata Music Director Andris Nelsons.

The BSO Resident Fellowship Program is named for former BSO Board Chair Susan W. Paine and her late husband Stephen. Ms. Paine guided the BSO through a period of transformation and growth during her time as Board Chair, and was a strong advocate for inclusion, helping lead the BSO to become a more resilient and culturally relevant institution. To celebrate her efforts, longtime friends Bob and Happy Doran and Barbara and Amos Hostetter collectively raised more than $5 million from a small group of donors to name the BSO Resident Fellows Program to honor her legacy. In addition, the Volpe Family Chair in the orchestra roster during the inaugural year of the Fellowship Program was named as a tribute to Mark Volpe, who served as the BSO's President and CEO for 23 years. A broad base of donors made contributions to the Volpe Fund upon his retirement to support the launch and initial costs of the program to honor his tenure with the BSO and for his role in creating the BSO Resident Fellowship Program.

In welcoming the two Fellows, Ms. Paine explained how “the appointment of these gifted musicians as inaugural BSO Resident Fellows is an important step in the fulfillment of the orchestra's ongoing commitment to a more diverse and inclusive orchestra community.” She further noted her deep gratitude to the donors who made the idea of the program a reality. “Their generosity and vision,” she notes, “will have a major impact on the BSO, the field at large, and the careers of future generations of musicians who participate in the Fellows Program.”