St. Louis Symphony Orchestra honors two retiring orchestra members at conclusion of 20/21 season

(August 3, 2021, St. Louis, MO) – The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra celebrates the careers of two retiring orchestra musicians, Second Associate Concertmaster Emeritus Silvian Iticovici and Associate Principal Timpanist and Cymbal Specialist Tom Stubbs, who have performed with the SLSO for a combined 96 years.

Stéphane Denève, Music Director of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, said, “We are all so very grateful for all that Silvian and Tom have done for our wonderful orchestra and the St. Louis community through their extraordinary tenures. It has personally been a great joy to share the stage with both Silvian and Tom, admiring their meaningful and friendly musical dedication, their deeply poetic curiosity, and always well-prepared musicianship, grounded in remarkable personal integrity. They leave precious legacies with our orchestra, and they will serve as an inspiration to all with their commitment to education. Merci de tout coeur, dear Sivian and Tom.”

Silvian Iticovici, First Violinist and Second Associate Concertmaster Emeritus, was appointed to the SLSO in 1976 and held the position of Second Associate Concertmaster for 28 seasons beginning in 1983. He performed under five SLSO Music Directors: Jerzy Semkow, Leonard Slatkin, Hans Vonk, David Robertson, and Stéphane Denève. A native of Romania, Iticovici received his master’s degree from the Bucharest Conservatory and continued his studies with Yehudi Menuhin, Ivan Galamian, and Norbert Brainin. He won second prize in the 1969 International Violin Competition in Sion, Switzerland, and was the recipient of the Andr Gertler prize in the 1972 International Bach Competition in Leipzig.

He appeared as a soloist with the SLSO in the world premiere performances of Miran Viher’s Violin Concerto, as well as performances of Dmitri Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1. He also performed as a soloist at SLSO Family and Education Concerts numerous times. An engaged chamber musician, Iticovici regularly performed chamber works with the SLSO. He serves on the faculty of Washington University in St. Louis, inspiring and mentoring young musicians.

A native of Kansas, Tom Stubbs, Associate Principal Timpanist and Cymbal Specialist, was appointed to the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in 1970 by then-Music Director Walter Susskind when Stubbs was a student at Juilliard. In the 51 years since, Stubbs performed with six SLSO Music Directors, was a regularly featured soloist, and performed eight times on the SLSO’s Live at the Pulitzer series, a collaboration with the Pulitzer Arts Foundation that presents music of the 20th and 21st centuries. He was also a featured soloist on Olivier Messaien’s Des canyons aux étoiles… (From the Canyons to the Stars…) on the SLSO’s 2016 California tour.

A committed educator, Stubbs teaches at St. Louis University and, since 1989, at the Aspen Music Festival and School, which he credits for his development as a young professional. He is also a clinician for the Zildjian Cymbal Company. Stubbs’ teaching legacy continues with many of his former students now playing professionally in orchestras in the U.S. and abroad.