Jorja Fleezanis

Jorja Fleezanis served as concertmaster of the Minnesota Orchestra from 1989 to 2009 – the longest-tenured concertmaster in the orchestra’s history and only the second woman in the United States to hold the title of concertmaster when appointed. Prior to Minnesota, she was associate concertmaster with the San Francisco Symphony and also a member of the Chicago Symphony. She has been guest concertmaster with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, and the Detroit Symphony.

Jorja held the Henry Upper Chair in Orchestral Studies and the Dorothy Richard Starling Chair at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music from 2009 to 2021. She was Visiting Faculty in Creative Orchestral Training at the Interlochen Arts Academy. Other teaching positions included the Round Top Festival Institute in Texas, San Francisco Conservatory, Music@Menlo Festival,  New World Symphony, Boston Conservatory, The Juilliard School, and Interlochen Academy and Summer Camp, as well as frequent coaching appearances at the Britten Pears Center in Aldeburgh, England.

Commissioned works included the John Adams Violin Concerto and Ikon of Eros by John Tavener, recorded on Reference Records, Sonata by Nicholas Maw,  and The Sky My Husband by Aaron Kernis. Her recording of the complete violin sonatas of Beethoven with the French fortepianist Cyril Huvé was released in 2003 on the Cyprés label.