Concertmaster, Kristina Nilsson
Now in her tenth season as concertmaster of the Newton Symphony Orchestra, Kristina Nilsson also currently holds that position with the Brockton Symphony, the orchestras of Coro Allegro, Chorus pro Musica and Spectrum Singers, and the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, which she helped found over twenty years ago. She has also served as concertmaster of the Harvard Chamber Orchestra; the orchestras of Harvard-Radcliffe Chorus and the Back Bay Chorus; Wellesley Symphony; Spoleto Festival Orchestra; Lake George Opera Orchestra; and the Berkshire Music Center Orchestra at Tanglewood, where as a student she received the prestigious Joseph Silverstein Prize. She has also appeared as soloist with Mr Silverstein, with the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra.
A longstanding member of both the Boston Pops Esplanade and the Boston Ballet orchestras, Ms Nilsson has for several years also acted as leader and violinist for the Mechanics Hall Chamber Players. She has appeared in both solo and chamber music recitals and radio broadcasts throughout New England, and is regularly featured on programs sponsored by the American Schubert Institute. She coaches string groups at Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School and the young artist programs of GBYSO and New England Conservatory of Music.
Kristina Nilsson has appeared as violin soloist with the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra (under John Williams), Boston Ballet Orchestra, National Symphony (Washington, DC), Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, Brockton Symphony, Quincy Symphony, Brookline Symphony and Newton Symphony. In October 2002, she will be premiering, along with Arturo Delmoni, a work for two violins and orchestra (with Pro Arte).
Ms Nilsson has recorded works by Robert Kyr, John Knowles Paine and others with Pro Arte and with Back Bay Chorale, while as a substitute member of the Boston Symphony's violin section, she participated in recordings of Schindler's List, Accidental Tourist and Saving Private Ryan. Together with her two sisters, who are also professional violinists, Kristina Nilsson can be heard as soloist on the Garrison Keillor Christmas album Now It Is Christmas Again at the Lake Wobegon Lutheran Church (Angel CDC 7243 5 55204-2).
Kristina Nilsson holds a BA summa cum laude from Connecticut College, an MM from New England Conservatory, and a JD cum laude from New England College of Law. She is an (inactive) member of the Massachusetts Bar. Ms Nilsson volunteers several hours per week as a reader for Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, a national organization with studios in Boston. She lives in Newton with her husband, Dean Rhodes, CPA, a Principal in the tax department at Ernst & Young, and their two daughters, Hillary and Erica.
