US cellist Loren Brown will retire from the orchestra in September, receiving the Theodore Thomas Medallion for Distinguished Service
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) has announced the retirement of its long-time member, cellist Loren Brown. Brown joined the orchestra in 1985 under Sir Georg Solti and last performed with it in 2023, prior to his sabbatical.
Brown’s career began with US Navy Quartet in Washington, D.C., where he spent four years performing at the White House and the Department of State. He has performed as principal cellist of the National Gallery Orchestra, the Kennedy Center Opera Orchestra, the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra, and as the principal cellist of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra for ten years.
Other ensembles include the Hilliard Ensemble of London, with which he performed in the Chicago and New York Premieres of Arvo Pärt’s Passio, Pro Musica Nova, the Chicago Chamber Musicians, Chicago Pro Musica, and the Chicago Symphony Chamber Players. In Japan, he has performed in multiple chamber music tours and the Affinis Arts Foundation summer festival.
Highlights of his time with the CSO include a concert with Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, a performance of Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas brasileiras with distinguished cellist Lynn Harrell, as well as over 40 tours. He has worked with Riccardo Muti, Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, Bernard Haitink. Brown also performed as a soloist for David Ott’s Concerto for Two Cellos, alongside CSO cellist Donald Moline.
Following his retirement in September, Brown will be awarded the CSO’s Theodore Thomas Medallion for Distinguished Service.
‘I find it remarkable that there is such synergy across more than 100 musicians who come together to carry the legacy of this great orchestra to make music at the highest level with the best conductors and soloists,’ said Brown. ‘That feeling is very special, and I have felt honoured and lucky to be a part of it.’
Brown and his wife, cellist Anne Monson, now intend to travel and to spend more time with family and friends in Utah.
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