Student concertmaster leads Philharmonic through semester

A concertmaster is defined as the leader of the first violins in an orchestra; someone who makes decisions in bowings and other technical aspects of the violins.

This year, junior Alexander Boissonnault fits the definition of concertmaster for the Jacobs School of Music’s Philharmonic Orchestra.

“I’ve been concertmaster since the beginning of the year,” Boissonnault said. “We had auditions during the first few weeks.”

Boissonnault has been playing the violin since he was three, when his mother started giving him lessons.

“My mom’s a violinist and teacher,” Boissonnault said. “She taught me for a couple of years and put me with a local teacher when I started to get proficient.”

Boissonnault’s skills led him to join the Philharmonic his freshman year at IU.  
He has had two different concertmasters during his time with the orchestra.

“There’s one audition every year,” Boissonnault said. “My first year we had a junior, and my second year we had a grad student.”

Typically concertmasters are more experienced students who have had at least two or more years with the Jacobs orchestras, but no student that auditions is ruled out because of age or class rank.

“I’m not aware of many who are freshmen or sophomores, although it does happen,” Boissonnault said.

The members of the Philharmonic Orchestra have had a ruthless schedule all semester, keeping busy with rehearsals and performances the whole way through.

“We have one to two weeks of rehearsal, a concert, a small break and then we go right back to it,” Boissonnault said. “This semester we’ve had three concerts and an opera.”
Each rehearsal lasts about

two hours with the conductor. However, if the conductor feels that the orchestra needs more time to work, the rehearsals are extended. 

Boissonnault said the musical selections of the Philharmonic have been very challenging this semester, which affects guest performers as well as rehearsal time.
“It’s been a year of guest concertmasters because we’ve had lots of difficult pieces,” Boissonnault said. 

On Tuesday, the Philharmonic had its final performance of the semester at the Musical Arts Center. 

Two different orchestras, a guest cellist, a guest conductor and a guest concertmaster all came together on stage to share their passion for music and play for a large audience of students, faculty and other Bloomington residents.

Though Boissonnault did not serve as concertmaster for the performance, it was clear that he was in tune with his section and orchestra.

A big smile grew on his face as he listened to the guest cellist Francisco Vila play a solo.

When the violins began to play again, Boissonnault’s facial expressions almost seemed to explain his interpretation of the story through the music.

He tenderly held his violin, as gently as a child, nodding in time to the music as his bow gracefully seemed to fly across the strings.

His energy and emotions helped bring his fellow musicians together to play beautifully for the audience.

“It was pretty intense,” said audience member and freshman Madeline Hall.

Hall and her friend freshman Anthony Mast talked about the performance and how well each musician did, including the guest performers. 

They said they were impressed by the quality of the concert and were looking forward to seeing more shows next semester.

“It was outstanding,” Mast said.