Violinist Joanna Frankel joined the Columbus Symphony on appointment as Concertmaster for the 2016/17 season; she officially assumed the role of Concertmaster in 2017. 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 “Ensemble Connect,” 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. While in Columbus, Ms. Frankel received the rare opportunity to perform on Paganini’s own “Il Cannone” Guarneri violin, the result of a Sister Cities collaboration with the Italian government of Genoa. She now performs on a Gaetano Vinaccia violin, crafted in Naples in 1819. Ms. Frankel is the first woman Concertmaster in the history of The Columbus Symphony.