Violinist Joanna Frankel joined the Columbus Symphony on appointment as concertmaster in September of 2016 for the 2016/17 season. She officially assumed the role of concertmaster for the start of the 2017/18 season. Born in Philadelphia in 1982, Ms. Frankel began studying the violin at age 3 with The Suzuki Method. She trained in New York at The Juilliard School and received the prestigious ‘William Schuman Prize’ upon graduation; her mentors have included Jascha Brodsky, CJ Chang, Robert Chen, Masao Kawasaki, Cho-Liang Lin, and Joseph Kalichstein. Ms. Frankel’s post-graduate work continued at Carnegie Hall, where she entered the inaugural class of “The Academy,” a groundbreaking initiative that trains ambitious young musicians to be 21st century arts leaders. Her concerto and recital appearances have included engagements across the U.S., and in The Netherlands, Russia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Slovakia, Finland, The Middle East, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. Her festival appearances include Marlboro Music Festival, Harare International Festival of the Arts, Johannesburg Mozart Festival, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Centro Cultural Internacional Óscar Niemeyer, La Jolla’s SummerFest, Santa Fe New Music, The Aspen Music Festival and Spoleto Festival USA. From 2013-2016, Ms. Frankel served as first concertmaster of The KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic in Durban, South Africa, and first violinist of the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Principal String Quartet. She performs on a Gaetano Vinaccia violin, crafted in Naples in 1819.