Posted September 2022

Boston University and the Boston Symphony Orchestra have always had a close connection. Over the years, dozens of BOS employees and performers have taken classes at CFA, participated in BU program, and/or graduated from a BU school/college. Below are just a few of the many talented BU alumni currently at the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Ikuko Mizuno (CFA’69)
The talented Mizuno began her violin endeavors at the age of five years old and went on to be a recipient winner in Japan’s notable NHK Mainichi Shimbun competition when she was in high school. When she came to the United States, she received her master’s degree in the College of Fine Arts at Boston University and won the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2002. Mizuno was a fellowship student at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, and in 1969, became the first Asian woman to perform as a violinist in the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

James Cooke (CFA’84)
James Cooke received his master’s degree at Boston University’s College of Fine Arts and joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1987 as a violinist. He is quite active in the Boston musical scene, performing with many esteemed ensembles such as the orchestra of the Boston Ballet and the Boston Composers String Quartet. Additionally, Cooke has been featured in albums such as Encounter with Luciano Berio, which was recorded at the Boston University School of Music in 1981.

Ala Jojatu (CFA’05)
Originally from Moldova, Ala Jojatu was a full scholarship student at the Boston Conservatory and later completed her Master of Music degree at Boston University. She was also a BU Tanglewood fellow in 2000 and 2001 and now plays the violin in the Boston Symphonys Orchestra (since 2011). Musical talent seems to run in her family, as she is married to cellist Mihail Jojatu, who is a current lecturer of music at BU’s College of Fine Arts.

Victor Romanul (CFA’81)
Romanul began his professional musical career at the age of seven years old and has performed notably as a violinist all over the world. He is a professor of violin at the Boston Conservatory and in 1997, was named as a soloist in “Best of Boston” by the Boston Globe. Romanul recently performed a number of recitals of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with the Boston Pops.

Alexandre LeCarme (CFA’99,’02,’05)
Originally born in France, LeCarme has performed all over the United States and Europe as a renowned cellist. He holds the Artist Diploma and Master of Music degrees from Boston University and was awarded the Dean’s scholarship. He joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 2008 and has since performed concerts in Opera de Nice, Shermetiev Palace in St. Petersburg for the 300th Anniversary of the city, and Salle Olivier Messiaen in France, just to name a few off of his extensive and incredible list.

Todd Seeber (CFA’85, BUTI’80)
Seeber began playing the double bass at the age of 11, and grew up in many different locations including Canada, Hawaii, and Australia. He was a board member of the Tanglewood Music Center in 1983 and was a 1984 winner of the Boston University Concerto-Aria Competition. He graduated from Boston University in 1985 and began playing in the Boston Symphony Orchestra in his early twenties. Now, Seeber teaches at multiple renowned music institutions in the east coast, including Boston University’s College of Fine Arts and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute.

Thomas Van Dyck (CFA’06)
Thomas Van Dyck joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 2013 playing the double bass, winning multiple awards—one of them being the Maurice Schwarz Prize at the Tanglewood Institute. He received his master’s degree at BU’s College of Fine Arts and currently lectures at multiple conservatories, including Boston University.

Christopher Elchico (BUTI’07)
Elchico is one of the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s newest members. He joined as a second clarinet player in March 2022. He is an alumnus of Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute where he was the winner of the Coleman-Saunderson Prize for Woodwinds and Brass at the 2011 Coleman Chamber Music Competition.

William Hudgins (CFA’79)
Hudgins joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1992 and became the principal clarinetist two years after. He received his bachelor’s degree from Boston University’s College of Fine Arts and was awarded the C.D. Jackson Award for “outstanding performance” at BU’s Tanglewood Music Center. You can hear him perform on multiple Grammy-nominated CDs, including Mozart’s Chamber Music for Strings and Winds.

Timothy Genis (BUTI’84)
Genis joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1993 but sharpened his percussion skills at Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute three years prior. Now, he is head of both the percussion department at BU as well as the Tanglewood program.

Daniel Bauch (CFA’04, BUTI’96,’97,’98)
Daniel Bauch found his talent for percussion at the age of seven, and earned his master’s degree from Boston University while studying with Timothy Genis and Will Hudgins—two BU alumni mentioned previously. Bauch was a former College of Fine Arts lecturer and a BU Tanglewood Music Center percussion fellow in 2001.

Matthew McKay (CFA’11)
McKay joined the percussion ensemble in 2012 at the Boston Symphony Orchestra and received his master’s degree at Boston University. He is a current faculty member at the Tanglewood Music Center and has performed with multiple ensembles, including the Detroit and San Diego symphony orchestras.

John Demick (CAS’84)
Demick grew up in the Berkshires where BU’s Tanglewood Music Center is located and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree Cum Laude from Boston University in 1984. He is now the stage manager for the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 2003 and has a huge passion for golf—often playing with fellow BSO employee and BU alumnus William Hudgins.

Boston University established a school of music 150 years ago. The new school was unlike all others in the United States and was the first to center the study of music as worthy of a degree. Now, nearly every major symphony orchestra across the world has counted BU School of Music alumni among its members. Celebrate the 150th Anniversary milestone by contributing to the Friends of Music Fund and investing in the artists who will shape the sounds of the century to come.

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