The Chautauqua (New York) Symphony Orchestra (CSO) has appointed Madeline Olson principal harp. “I’m incredibly excited for a full and engaging season with Maestro [Rossen] Milanov and my new colleagues in Chautauqua next summer,” Olson says. The CSO is the professional orchestra of the Chautauqua Institution, a not-for-profit located on Chautauqua Lake in southwestern New York state, which offers summer programming on the arts, literature, philosophy, recreation, and religious studies. “The Institution is a unique haven for philosophy and the arts, where music-making and creativity can thrive,” Olson says. “I look forward to growing in my craft, being inspired by the orchestra’s high level of dedication, and of course soaking up plenty of sun by the lake!”
Olson is also principal harp of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. As an orchestral musician, Olson has performed with ensembles including the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, and Virginia Symphony Orchestra. She has most recently been featured as a soloist with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Maryland Symphony Orchestra, Buffalo Opera Unlimited, Modesto Symphony Orchestra, and Merced Symphony.
Olson was awarded a career grant from Charlotte White’s Salon de Virtuosi in 2019, and was the first American to be awarded first prize at the 2017 Nippon International Harp Competition in Soka, Japan. She has won prizes at the American Harp Society National Competition, Hong Kong International Harp Competition, and Young Artist’s Harp Competition, and she was a recipient of the Aspen Music Festival New Horizons Fellowship in 2017. She received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music from The Juilliard School under Nancy Allen, and is currently an adjunct instructor at The State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo.
