Committee Work

Robert Levine has been the Principal Violist of the Milwaukee Symphony since September 1987. Before coming to Milwaukee Mr. Levine had been a member of the Orford String Quartet, Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Toronto, with whom he toured extensively throughout Canada, the United States, and South America. Prior to joining the Orford Quartet, Mr. Levine had served as Principal Violist of The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra for six years. He has also performed with the San Francisco Symphony, the London Symphony of Canada, and the Oklahoma City Symphony, as well as serving as guest principal with the orchestras of Indianapolis and Hong Kong.

He has performed as soloist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Oklahoma City Symphony, the London Symphony of Canada, the Midsummer Mozart Festival (San Francisco), and numerous community orchestras in Northern California and Minnesota. He has also been featured on American Public Radio's nationally broadcast show "St. Paul Sunday Morning" on several occasions.

Mr. Levine has been an active chamber musician, having performed at the Festival Rolandseck in Germany, the Grand Teton Music Festival, the Palm Beach Festival, the "Strings in the Mountains" Festival in Colorado, and numerous concerts in the Twin Cities and Milwaukee. He has also been active in the field of new music, having commissioned and premiered works for viola and orchestra from Minnesota composers Janika Vandervelde and Libby Larsen.

Mr. Levine was chairman of the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians from 1996 to 2002 and currently serves as President of the Milwaukee Musicians Association, Local 8 of the American Federation of Musicians, and as a member of the Board of Directors of the League of American Orchestras. He has written extensively about issues concerning orchestra musicians for publications of ICSOM, the AFM, the Symphony Orchestra Institute, and the League of American Orchestras.

Mr. Levine attended Stanford University and the Institute for Advanced Musical Studies in Switzerland. His primary teachers were Aaron Sten and Pamela Goldsmith. He also studied with Paul Doctor, Walter Trampler, Bruno Giuranna, and David Abel.

He lives with his wife Emily and his son Sam in Glendale.

Tom Reel has played in the double bass section of the Virginia Symphony since 1984. He holds degrees in Music from the University of Kansas (B.M. 1980 and M.M. 1982). He is also a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy (B.S., 1970) and a Vietnam veteran. Hobbies include swimming, following the fortunes of the New York Yankees, politics, and writing.
Tom has worked on countless union and symphony committees as a volunteer during his two decades in the VSO, and has also served on the Symphony Board (as a musician rep) and been employed on the VSO staff (more than doubling program advertising revenues in three years in the early 1990s). He is a tireless advocate for the symphony and its musicians, and is known for his expression, "Supporting the Arts Means Supporting the Artists."

Right now his goals are to combine seasoned leadership with passing the torch to a younger generation of union leaders, and continuing to grow as a musician. Tom grew up in Tarrytown NY, and spent boyhood summers hiking and camping in the Adirondack Mountains where he learned this philosophy: "Leave the Campsite Better Than You Found It."

Scott Freck has been General Manager and Vice President for Artistic Operations of the North Carolina Symphony since November 2000. Before coming to Raleigh, he served on the staff of the Oregon Symphony in a variety of roles (from Marketing Assistant and Director of Orchestra Operations to Artistic Administrator and Acting General Manager) between September 1991 and September 2000. Freck was a ‘cellist at a student (and occasionally semi-professional) level for 12 years, and also fumbled his way through piano parts in a high-school jazz band. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington.

Double bassist Bruce Ridge, chairman of the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians (ICSOM), has been a member of the North Carolina Symphony since 1987. He began his professional career when he joined the Virginia Symphony at the age of 15. Ridge later studied at the Curtis Institute of Music and the New England Conservatory of Music, where he graduated with Distinction in Performance honors. He has performed at Tanglewood, Interlochen, and the Grand Teton Festival, and with the orchestras of Charleston (SC), Jacksonville, and Honolulu.

Believed to be just the second musician from an ICSOM orchestra to chair a music director search, Ridge led the committee that brought Grant Llewellyn to the North Carolina Symphony. He has served as chair of the North Carolina Symphony Players’ Association, on grant panels for the National Endowment for the Arts, and as a member of the City of Raleigh Arts Commission. He has also served as a faculty member for several sessions of the American Symphony Orchestra League’s Orchestra Leadership Academy.

Ridge’s double bass teachers include Lawrence Wolfe of the Boston Symphony, and the late Roger Scott of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He also performs on the bass guitar and solo jazz bass for the North Carolina Symphony’s Pops series.

Double bassist Bruce Ridge, chairman of the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians (ICSOM), has been a member of the North Carolina Symphony since 1987. He began his professional career when he joined the Virginia Symphony at the age of 15. Ridge later studied at the Curtis Institute of Music and the New England Conservatory of Music, where he graduated with Distinction in Performance honors. He has performed at Tanglewood, Interlochen, and the Grand Teton Festival, and with the orchestras of Charleston (SC), Jacksonville, and Honolulu.

Believed to be just the second musician from an ICSOM orchestra to chair a music director search, Ridge led the committee that brought Grant Llewellyn to the North Carolina Symphony. He has served as chair of the North Carolina Symphony Players’ Association, on grant panels for the National Endowment for the Arts, and as a member of the City of Raleigh Arts Commission. He has also served as a faculty member for several sessions of the American Symphony Orchestra League’s Orchestra Leadership Academy.

Ridge’s double bass teachers include Lawrence Wolfe of the Boston Symphony, and the late Roger Scott of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He also performs on the bass guitar and solo jazz bass for the North Carolina Symphony’s Pops series.