Boston Symphony Orchestra Announces 2024/25 Resident Fellows

Violinist Rachel Arcega Orth, cellist Maximiliano Oppeltz, and violist Yuri Hughes will undertake a one-year appointment as musicians in the orchestra 

The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) has named violinist Rachel Arcega Orth, cellist Maximiliano Oppeltz, and violist Yuri Hughes as recipients of the second cohort of the BSO Resident Fellowship for Early-Career Musicians.

Founded in the 2022/23 season, the BSO fellowship supports string players from historically underrepresented backgrounds through paid calls with the orchestra. 

The fellows will have opportunities to perform at Symphony Hall, Tanglewood, and Carnegie Hall, and on tours with both the BSO and Boston Pops Orchestra.

In addition to an annual salary, health benefits, and a housing stipend, the new fellows will receive stipends for private lessons, audition travel, and specialized audition coaching. 

Selected through a competitive process involving a live audition at Symphony Hall, Orth, Oppeltz, and Hughes, will first perform with the BSO this fall. Succeeding the program’s inaugural fellows Leonardo Vásquez Chacón and Andres Vela, they will be appointed for one year with the opportunity to renew for a second year.  

“It is my great pleasure to welcome Rachel Arcega Orth, Max Oppeltz, and Yuri Hughes to the Boston Symphony Orchestra community,” said BSO’s Music Director Andris Nelsons in the press release. “By performing regularly at Symphony Hall and Tanglewood, these talented musicians will have the opportunity to gain firsthand experience at one of the world’s finest orchestras as they learn about the realities of being a professional symphonic musician and prepare for future auditions. I am sure that we, in turn, will benefit greatly from their excitement, musicality, and passion for learning and growing in their music at this pivotal time in their careers.” 

“With the Resident Fellows program, the BSO presents rising musicians with valuable professional experience at a crucial time in their careers,” added BSO’s President and CEO Chad Smith. “In doing so, we hope to not only prepare them fully for life as an orchestral musician, but to create a space for them to experience music-making of the highest caliber, to feel the joy of creating art alongside people who have made it their life’s work. The BSO has been one of the finest orchestras in the world for generations now. It’s in all of our best interest — not just here at the BSO, but in the classical music community at large — to ensure that future generations of musicians have opportunities to develop a fulfilling artistic and professional practice, no matter their background.”

A Filipino-American violinist, Rachel Arcega Orth has performed across the United States, Canada, France, Mexico, Peru, and Argentina. She is pursuing a doctoral degree at Boston University, and is a graduate of Texas Christian University. She has performed solo with internationally-acclaimed ensembles, and has served as artist-faculty for Festival Musicians for the World in Peru.

“My parents always told me I was born into the wrong family for a career in classical music and if I wanted to pursue the violin, they would have to win the lottery,” Orth said. “They never won the lottery, but growing up, it was programs like this fellowship that allowed me to pursue a desire that just wouldn’t go away, no matter how many setbacks. Never in my wildest dreams would I or my family believe that I would one day be able to play with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and have so many doors open to me all at once. I am so thankful to all the wonderful teachers who gave so generously of their time and attention and for institutions like these that allow what seem like unreachable dreams to become reality.”

Maximiliano Oppeltz started playing the cello at the age of four as a student of the El Sistema program. He later studied at The Juilliard School with Richard Aaron and he pursued graduate degrees as a Neumann fellow at the University of Denver; in 2020, he was a Diversity Fellow with the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. Oppeltz has performed with the Cincinnati and Baltimore symphony orchestras, and is currently playing with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra.

“The Boston Symphony has always had a special, almost legendary place in my heart,” Oppeltz expressed. “From growing up listening to their recordings, I've always believed it to be one of the few orchestras in the world that has maintained a sense of tradition and a desire to always perform at the highest level. Being able to join the BSO as a resident fellow for this upcoming season is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to participate in world-class music-making and to share the stage with some of the best soloists and conductors in the world. It’s a dream come true!”

Based in New York City, Yuri Hughes has performed throughout the U.S. as a member of the NYO-USA and with the Albany and Harrisburg symphonies. She has toured the globe with several festival orchestras, and performed with conductors including Marin Alsop, Christoph Eschenbach, Valery Gergiev, and Hugh Woolf. Hughes is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music, where she studied with Kim Kashkashian. 

“I’m deeply honored to accept this fellowship with the BSO,” Hughes said. “Returning to Boston is incredibly meaningful to me, especially given the profound impact various BSO members have had on my musical journey during my time at New England Conservatory. It feels wonderfully fitting that this opportunity brings me back to such a nurturing environment and a fantastic city. As a trans woman, I recognize the unique challenges of our under-representation in the world of classical music. Being welcomed into such a prestigious orchestra is not only a significant milestone for me personally but also a progressive step forward for our field and my community. I am thrilled to be part of this phenomenal ensemble and to contribute to the rich legacy of the BSO.”