Nurit bar josef biography of rory

Nurit Bar-Josef: Behind the Scenes with the National Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster

November 3, 2017

When Nurit Bar-Josef of Local 161-710 (Washington, DC) was selected as concertmaster for National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) at age 26, she was the youngest concertmaster ever appointed to a major symphony orchestra.

More than 16 years later, she recalls initial surprise on finding out she’d won the spot.

“I knew some of the others who had auditioned—it’s a small world—and I thought they might think I was too young or too inexperienced,” she says.

Nurit bar josef biography of rory

The young musician was aware of the huge responsibility she had accepted. “I knew what to expect from my previous experiences in St. Louis and Boston, where I saw just how much the concertmaster has to deal with on a daily basis,” she says.

Bar-Josef was assistant concertmaster for Bosto