Going Out On Top

As many readers of the ItC blog have no doubt heard by now, the Minnesota Orchestra's concertmaster of 20 years, Jorja Fleezanis, announced at this morning's rehearsal that she will be leaving the orchestra next June, and devoting the remainder of her professional life to teaching at Indiana University's prestigious school of music.

As the saying goes, her announcement was a shock, but not a total surprise. While I hadn't heard so much as a rumor that she might be thinking about leaving us, I know that she's always been passionate about teaching, and I've heard her say in the past that at some point before she retired, she hoped to be able to devote herself to it full time. That she chooses this moment to bow out of her orchestral career on her own terms seems wholly in keeping with the individual she has always been.

Jorja is a legendary figure, both in Minnesota and the wider music world, one of the rare musicians who is as effortlessly eloquent with her words as she is with her instrument. And while she can sometimes look stern and icy from the audience, with her shock of white hair (with occasional black or even purple streaked through it) and her fierce concentration during performance, those of us lucky enough to know her always think first of her easy smile, her genuine warmth and generosity with every one of her colleagues, and her boundless enthusiasm for the job.

We've got nearly a whole year to say goodbye to her, and I'm sure the ovation she'll receive when she walks out to begin this week's season opening concerts will be topped only by the one she'll receive at the other end next June. And of course, I'll be sure to make some time to sit down with her for an exit interview to be posted here on the ItC site at some point during the year. But for now, feel free to use the comments section below to say anything you'd like about Jorja's remarkable 20-year tenure in Minnesota. I'll be sure to pass your thoughts and memories along...