“Three classical musicians moved to Memphis this year to take part in a new fellowship between the Memphis Symphony Orchestra and the University of Memphis’ Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music,” writes Elle Perry in Wednesday’s (11/4) Daily Memphian (Memphis, TN). “The Musician Fellowship Program fellows make their debut public performance together [Nov. 4] alongside their professional mentor, [Memphis Symphony Assistant Concertmaster] Marisa Polesky.” The fellows—violist Katie Brown, violinist Allison Lovera, and cellist Estefan Perez—are “paid members of the MSO string section [and] earn a full-scholarship graduate degree from the U of M.” Brown, who is co-host of the Classically Black podcast, says she “ ‘always had Memphis Symphony in mind as forward-thinking, changing the narrative of classical music in terms of hires, pieces they program and the soloists they bring’ … The MSO fellowship includes [coaching] young musicians in the Memphis community…. Lovera … thought the environment at MSO would be different from other symphonies because a woman of color, [Kalena] Bovell, is assistant conductor. ’I love the city,’ the Venezuela native said. ‘I feel very comfortable here.’ ” Fellowship auditions were held in spring 2020.
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