Nicole Jordan photo by Jeff Rothman
“Nicole Jordan, currently principal music librarian with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra … will take up the same post with the Philadelphia Orchestra on Sept. 14,” writes Peter Dobrin in Tuesday’s (6/16) Philadelphia Inquirer. “Though a music librarian has both administrative and musical duties, she is a bona fide member of the orchestra, working under the labor contract covering musicians…. The 36-year-old was born and raised in Southwest Philadelphia and Germantown, and has family in Philly. Her master’s degree in music history is from Temple University, and she played trumpet and viola while a student at Philadelphia High School for Girls. Her undergraduate degree is in viola performance from the University of Minnesota-Duluth…. Jordan replaces Robert Grossman, who began as the orchestra’s assistant librarian in 1979, became principal in 2003, and is retiring…. She becomes only the fourth current black member of the ensemble and its first black woman. Orchestra president and CEO Matías Tarnopolsky said the milestone was one step in ‘a journey that we will continue to move forward on.’ … Jordan’s selection is also noteworthy in this particular field. ‘I know of only one other black [orchestra] librarian at a professional level,’ says Jordan, who is active in the Major Orchestra Librarians’ Association.”
