Osheen Manukyan.
In Wednesday’s (3/11) Cincinnati Business Courier, Janelle Gelfand writes, “In the professional world of classical music, winning a position in a major American orchestra takes immense talent, decades of training and education, and ultimately, winning an audition…. Barriers exist for those without the resources … The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is launching a new CSO Resident Fellowship Program that aims to help prepare exceptional early career musicians for success in the audition process and also increase representation on its stage…. Cellist Osheen Manukyan, 26, is its inaugural CSO resident fellow. He will begin performing full time with the CSO in the 2026-27 season. The new fellowship targets a critical gap in the transition between finishing a conservatory education and landing an audition … CSO President and CEO Robert McGrath said … ‘We’ve designed this fellowship program … so that the recipient of the fellowship will be playing in the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra for nine months of the season … receiving compensation and benefits just like a member of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and receive additional financial support so that they can travel and take those additional auditions.’… Manukyan, a native of Los Angeles who already has an impressive resume, began playing cello at age 6 … He’s had fellowships at prestigious summer music festivals. But to work for a full season with a major orchestra will be ‘whole new level of immersion,’ he said.”
