Saluting Retiring Violinist Catherine Schubilske

On October 12 the Minnesota Orchestra celebrated the retirement of longtime violinist Catherine Schubilske. A native of Chicago, Schubilske joined the Orchestra’s second violin section in 2000 after 16 years with the orchestras of Honolulu, Milwaukee and Santa Fe Opera, plus regular subbing with the Chicago Symphony. 

Schubilske’s favorite performing memories with the Orchestra include several from Osmo Vänskä’s music director tenure—“the electric energy of concerts at the BBC Proms and the opportunity to study and record Beethoven, Sibelius and Mahler symphony cycles,” she says—as well as the Listening Project, through which the Orchestra has made the first recordings of Julia Perry’s Short Piece for Orchestra and other lesser-known works. Other concerts that have stood out during her tenure include performing Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony with the Minnesota Chorale and stagings of Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel that featured In the Heart of the Beast’s large puppets with floating sheets during the Evening Prayer.

Schubilske also speaks highly of the Orchestra’s innovative projects early in the pandemic, including performing an Eleanor Alberga string quartet in the Hall and outdoors on Peavey Plaza. “I’m so grateful for the way Michelle Miller Burns, Margee Bracken and the board found a way through the crisis to present dynamic and under-represented composers and start broadcasts on TPT,” she says. In addition, she mentions that she will most miss “being surrounded by the beautiful sound of my very talented colleagues, seeing our kind and gracious staff and crew, and sharing stories with them backstage.”

Her retirement will bring a variety of activities—many of them musical. “More flexibility for teaching, traveling and volunteer work will be welcome,” she says. “In the near future I’ll be practicing for a January 5 recital with my daughter on the Lakeville Arts Center series, sharing the music and stories of Jelly d’Arányi, a fascinating violinist of the early 20th century. Pianist Mary Jo Gothmann and I enjoyed creating a similar program on another historic woman violinist, Maud Powell, and she will join us for this one, too.”

In closing, she offers gratitude for the Orchestra’s audiences. “Your energy and engagement are palpable—we are so fortunate to play for this community of music lovers,” she says. “Thank you for actively preserving the organization during the lockout and returning in full numbers year-round.”

Please join us in congratulating Catherine and thanking her for her many years of service to the Minnesota Orchestra!