For the Gazette

STEVENS POINT – The Central Wisconsin Symphony Orchestra (CWSO) has appointed Graham Emberton as the new concertmaster for the 74th Season, entitled “Destinations.”

Emberton succeeds Steve Bjella, a longtime concertmaster and served as interim concertmaster for the CWSO for part of the 73rd season.

“It’s an honor and privilege to be the next concertmaster of the CWSO. Over the past few years I’ve enjoyed working with accomplished colleagues on innovative music programming, and am looking forward to playing with the orchestra in a new role as we share our joy of music with audiences,” Emberton stated.

“The role of concertmaster is an exciting one and comes with a unique set of responsibilities. Some of these are steeped in ceremony, such as leading the tuning of the orchestra. This is perhaps the most obvious hallmark for audiences. Other duties include determining the bowings for concerts (deciding which direction the strings will move their bows), acting as a conduit between conductor and orchestra (diplomatic communication musically and otherwise is a must!), and being able to juggle various musical roles- often blending and leading the violin section and sometimes projecting more as a soloist when tasked with this by the composer.”

Emberton is a violinist based in Stevens Point and a member of the Fox Valley Symphony. He has also performed with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, Utah Festival Opera, Lansing Symphony, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and the Britten-Pears Orchestra.

He teaches for the Aber Suzuki Center at UW-Stevens Point and held faculty positions at Interlochen Arts Camp, Detroit Youth Volume, and DePaul Community Music Division. Emberton holds degrees in violin performance from Butler University, DePaul University, and the University of Memphis.

For more information about the CWSO, call 715-345-7726 or visit cwso.org.