Nathan Olson

Biography

Currently in his fourth year as Concertmaster of the Canton Symphony, violinist, Nathan Olson is a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music’s prestigious Concertmaster Academy, where he studied with Cleveland Orchestra Concertmaster William Preucil.  Mr. Olson also received his Master of Music and Bachelor of Music (with Academic Honors) degrees from CIM, studying with Paul Kantor and William Preucil.  A winner of the Joseph and Elsie Scharff prize in violin at CIM, he has performed as soloist with the Canton Symphony Orchestra, Breckenridge Music Festival Orchestra, Cleveland Pops Orchestra, CityMusic Cleveland, San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, Berkeley Symphony, Oakland East Bay Symphony, and the Lexington Bach Festival Orchestra.

Mr. Olson has appeared in recent seasons as Guest Concertmaster with the symphony orchestras of Dallas, Toronto, Omaha, and Tucson.He currently holds the position of Concertmaster with CityMusic Cleveland and the Breckenridge Music Festival Orchestra, and performs with the Cleveland Orchestra as a substitute.

A dedicated chamber musician, Mr. Olson  has collaborated with Robert McDuffie, Roberto Diaz, Andrés Diaz, Hsin-Yun Huang, Elaine Douvas, Gary Graffman, Peter Salaff, Sharon Isbin, David Tanenbaum, and the Cavani String Quartet, as well as with members of the Cleveland Orchestra such as Franklin Cohen, Isabel Trautwein, Carolyn Warner, and Stephen Warner. As a member of the Kashii String Quartet, he served on faculty at the Innsbrook Music Festival and won the silver medal at the 2005 Fischoff International Chamber Music Competition. While completing his B.M. at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Mr. Olson earned minors in both Mathematics and Music Theory.