The Cleveland Orchestra Announces Cleveland Native Jessica Sindell As Assistant Principal Flute

The Cleveland Orchestra and Music Director Franz Welser-Möst have announced that Jessica Sindell, a Northeast Ohio native from Pepper Pike and Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra (COYO) alumna, joined the Orchestra as Assistant Principal Flute beginning the week of October 22. This appointment marks the fifth COYO alum to join The Cleveland Orchestra and brings the number of COYO alumni currently playing in the Orchestra to four. Ms. Sindell will sit in The Cleveland Orchestra's Austin B. and Ellen W. Chinn Assistant Principal Flute Endowed Chair. She fills the position previously held by Marisela Sager for thirteen seasons, from 2005 to 2018.

"Returning home to Cleveland to join this world-class orchestra is a dream come true for me," said Jessica Sindell. "I grew up watching The Cleveland Orchestra play at Severance Hall, which instilled in me an early love of classical music. You can imagine how much I treasured my time performing with the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra. It continues to provide such an incredible environment for young musicians, and I truly believe it's what inspired me to continue to pursue music. Now, to be a part of The Cleveland Orchestra, the ensemble I looked up to as a child and played side-by-side with as a teen, is incredibly fulfilling. There really are no words to fully describe how much this opportunity means to me."

COYO is a full symphonic ensemble comprised of approximately 100 young musicians drawn from 38 communities in 11 counties across Northern Ohio. The ensemble provides serious young music students of middle-high school age with a unique pre-professional orchestra training experience. COYO alumni currently playing in the Cleveland Orchestra include violist Eliesha Nelson, assistant principal trumpet player Lyle Steelman, violinist Jeffrey Zehngut, and assistant principal flutist Jessica Sindell. During Ms. Sindell's tenure in COYO, from 2005-2007, she served as a member of the flute section under the batons of James Gaffigan and Jayce Ogren. COYO is currently led by Cleveland Orchestra Assistant Conductor Vinay Parameswaran.

The 2018-19 season marks The Cleveland Orchestra's 101st year of concerts and the beginning of a Second Century of extraordinary music making, dedicated service to its hometown, and worldwide acclaim. Upcoming season highlights include the Orchestra's annual Christmas Concerts, December 14-23, and an opera presentation of a made-for-Cleveland production of Richard Strauss's Ariadne Auf Naxos, which is being performed for the first time in the Orchestra's history January 13, 17 and 19.

Jessica Sindell joins The Cleveland Orchestra as assistant principal flutist after serving as the solo piccolo player of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra since 2016. Prior to her time in New York, she served as principal flutist of the Oregon Symphony Orchestra for two seasons.

Ms. Sindell has acted as principal flute with the Mainly Mozart Festival in San Diego and the Colorado Music Festival. She has performed with the Lake Tahoe Music Festival orchestra since 2012 and frequently performs and records at the new Tippet Rise Arts Center in Montana.

Jessica Sindell graduated high school from Western Reserve Academy in Cleveland and received her Bachelors of Music in flute performance from the Eastman School of Music, where she studied under longtime flute professor Bonita Boyd. She was the recipient of consecutive fellowships to participate in the Aspen Music Festival and School during the summers of 2011 through 2013, as well as to the Music Academy of the West in 2014.