The Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra announces the appointment of Charleston violinist Micah Gangwer to the position of Concertmaster.

Throughout the pandemic shortened 2019-2020 season, Gangwer served as acting concertmaster, and in previous seasons, filled temporary principal second violin vacancies.

In the Fall of 2019, the HHSO conducted a national search to fill the position previously held for a decade by Savannah violinist Terry Moore. The audition committee, comprised of several HHSO musicians and Grammy-nominated HHSO Music Director, John Morris Russell, concluded the audition without an appointment, but rather a short list of candidates to be heard in the position of acting concertmaster throughout the upcoming season.

Russell, upon making the appointment said, “Micah is an exceptional artist and solid leader, and we all look forward to a new level of nuanced musical collaboration together.”

Gangwer has been an active orchestral, chamber, and solo musician throughout the southeast since he moved to South Carolina in 2006. His playing has been described as “clean, clear, and virtuosic” and “absolutely ravishing” by the Columbia Free Times, and that “he has full command of the violin and can do whatever he wants with it” by Charleston Today. When asked about the appointment, Gangwer said he is “excited and honored to begin the 2020/21 season as the Concertmaster of the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra!”

Gangwer made his solo debut performing with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra when he was eleven years old, and won a number of regional and national violin competitions throughout his childhood and college years. He has performed as a soloist with various professional and collegiate orchestras across America, and has been showcased on public radio and television. As a chamber musician, Gangwer has played in concerts across America and Europe including performances for ambassadors, royalty, and heads of state. Micah was a finalist in the internationally renowned Coleman Chamber Music Competition as a member of the Lennox Trio, and has collaborated with Frank Huang, Elmar Oliveira, Alexander Kerr, David Requiro, Randolph Kelly, Kurt Muroki, and members of the Shanghai, Amernet, Miami, Debussy, Ying, and Vienna quartets, among others. He has performed in many festivals and institutes including the Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Gamper Festival of Contemporary Music, and the Salzburg Chamber Music Institute. Gangwer also performed, toured, and recorded for three summers as a member of the Echternach Festival Orchestra of Luxembourg, and served for several seasons as the concertmaster of the Piccolo Spoleto Festival Orchestra in Charleston, South Carolina.

Gangwer has been a violinist with the HHSO since 2011, and lives in Charleston with his wife and violist Rachel, where he is Assistant Concertmaster of the Charleston Symphony. Before moving to the Lowcountry, he held the positions of Principal Second Violin of the South Carolina Philharmonic and Associate/Acting Concertmaster of the Augusta Symphony. Micah attended Miami University for his undergraduate studies, and the University of Oklahoma and University of South Carolina for graduate school.

HHSO President and CEO Alan Jordan shared “It is wonderful that the HHSO found a new leader from within our ranks, and a person highly respected by our musicians and known and loved by our audiences.  We look forward to Micah’s leadership for many exceptional performances in the future.”