Violinist Daniel Sender is the new concertmaster for the Charlottesville & University Symphony Orchestra and is joining the performance faculty in the University of Virginia's music department in the College of Arts & Sciences.

Sender was selected following a national search that drew more than 30 applicants. He held both positions on an interim basis during the 2011-12 academic year and said he's enthusiastic about the chance to continue. The concertmaster is the primary violinist and lead musician in the symphony.

"In my interim year, I got enough of a sense of Charlottesville and the University that I knew I wanted to stay," he said. "I was ecstatic to have been offered the job. I believe the Charlottesville Symphony Society and CUSO's music director, Kate Tamarkin, have a good understanding of how to connect with the community and a strong vision for the future."

Tamarkin, who is also a member of the music department's performance faculty, said Sender is a valuable addition to both the symphony and the University.

"I am delighted that Daniel will be joining us in the very important position of concertmaster," Tamarkin said. "Daniel is an elegant violinist with a formidable technique, and a thoughtful and respectful leader. He is also a wonderful pedagogue who knows how to get the best from his students."

Sender has also recently been named concertmaster of the Ash Lawn Opera Festival, which will present Mozart's "The Magic Flute" and Meredith Willson's "The Music Man" this summer. He said he's energized by the opportunity to connect with the local music community through the opera festival and the symphony.

In the music department, Sender will teach individual violin lessons and work with chamber music ensembles. He'll also coach the violin section for the symphony.

"The caliber of U.Va. students is very high," Sender said. "Many students already have mature musical sensibilities, and teaching students like that the finer points of music is a real treat. I look forward to helping them develop all the tools necessary to enjoy music as a lifelong pursuit.”

During the 2010-11 academic year, Sender was a Fulbright Scholar at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, where he studied with the Hungarian violinist Vilmos Szabadi, collaborated with teachers at the Folk Music School of Óbuda and carried out research in support of his dissertation, "Folk Elements in Twentieth-Century Hungarian Music." He has doctoral and master's degrees from the University of Maryland and an undergraduate degree from Ithaca (N.Y.) College.

– by Rob Seal