Nashville Symphony Announces New Concertmaster

Peter Otto will be the orchestra’s new Walter Buchanan Sharp Concertmaster beginning in January 2024

Peter Otto was one of three finalists selected to audition for the role in the Nashville Symphony. In addition to performing as Concertmaster for two subscription weeks, the candidates also performed a solo recital in front of a search committee of peers from the Orchestra and Music Director Giancarlo Guerrero.

Previously, Otto was the First Associate Concertmaster and Acting Concertmaster at The Cleveland Orchestra and Assistant Concertmaster of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra.

A graduate of The Juilliard School and the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Rostock, Germany, his honors include top prizes in the Max Rostal Competition in Berlin and the Kingsville Young Performers Competition in Texas.

Otto has also performed as a soloist with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic, Heidelberg Chamber Orchestra, Camarata Rostockiensis, National Youth Orchestra of Germany, and the Cleveland Philharmonic. He has appeared as guest Concertmaster with the Nashville Symphony and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

He has served as a faculty member of the Bowdoin Summer Music Festival and the Kent/Blossom Festival. A frequent guest teacher at the New World Symphony, Otto currently teaches violin at Cleveland State University.

“I am thrilled that Peter Otto will be joining the Nashville Symphony as Concertmaster. He is someone with vast and wonderful experience who I had the pleasure to work with during my time with the Cleveland Orchestra,” said Guerrero. “When Peter joined us in Nashville for some concerts this spring, there was an immense and immediate chemistry with the orchestra. Attracting someone like Peter speaks to the level of the Orchestra and our beautiful hall and shows that the Nashville Symphony can attract the highest caliber of artist.”

“The first time I sat in as Concertmaster of the Nashville Symphony in 2010, the program was Mahler’s Fifth Symphony and Chopin’s Second Piano Concerto with Giancarlo Guerrero conducting. The Orchestra was so warm and welcoming, and there was an immediate connection and spark,” said Otto. “Thirteen years later, I remain flabbergasted at their level of eagerness, responsiveness, and the ease and flexibility they demonstrate across a wide range of music. I’m honored to have been offered this post by Giancarlo, and I look forward to making my home in Music City.”