Adrenaline rushed through his veins like a resonating fortissimo. Mihail Jojatu, a first year student in the College of Fine Arts, anticipated his first concert as the newest member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. After 27 years of hard work and dedication, Jojatu debuted with the BSO on January 15th.
“It was an amazing achievement to join one of the best orchestras in the world,” said Romanian-born Jojatu. “It’s an unbelievable job. It was a dream since I came to this country five years ago.”
This past December, for the first time in five years, the 101 member BSO, which has just 11 cellists, held auditions to fill a vacant cello seat.
“It was a huge competition with over 200 applicants in the preliminary round,” Jojatu said. “The greatest artists in the world come to Boston. It’s rare for a Bostonian to get a job in the BSO becausxe people come from all over the world.”
As tryouts advanced through a series of rounds, the number of competitors dwindled. By the final round, Jojatu said he and one other cellist remained. Although he was exhilarated when he first found out he was chosen, Jojatu said he diplomatically accepted congratulations from his fellow competitors, holding back his brimming elation.
“I couldn’t explode in that moment in front of the others,” Jojatu said. “I didn’t think that was appropriate, but then on the street I broke down and cried. I will never forget December 2, 2001, the day I won the job. I’m extremely excited but I work very, very hard.”
To prepare for his first concert with the BSO, Jojatu, whose musical repertoire includes ten symphonies, two movements of a concerto and one movement of a sonata, spent most of his time in the practice room.
“I practiced ten hours a day, every day, for two months — more than human” he said.
Jojatu said he never anticipated being chosen for the BSO five years ago, when he left his home in Bucharest, Romania, to come to Boston. He traveled to Boston at the urging of his brother Adrian, a student in CFA at the time. Jojatu, who did not know English when he arrived, said his brother helped him adjust to life in the United States.
“He’s like my father here,” Jojatu said of his 43-year-old brother. “He went to BU for the bassoon and supported me in my move to Boston.”
Jojatu, 25, matriculated at Boston University in September of 2001, aided by a full scholarship, to pursue a performance diploma. After he enrolled, Jojatu began training with Jules Eskin, principal cellist for the BSO and a CFA teaching associate. Jojatu first met Eskin in 1999, when he was a student at the Tanglewood summer camp and was awarded the Karl Zeise Memorial Cello Prize by Eskin and other members of the BSO.
“He’s an unbelievable cellist and I learn a lot from him,” Jojatu said. “Eskin changed my playing in a couple of months. He taught me to stay simple and worked on phrasing as well as articulation — how you produce your sound and manage your fingers on the cello.”
“He’s changed appreciably in the few months that I’ve worked with him,”Eskin said. “He’s developed, become more aware of the art of cello playing and become more thoughtful about what he does.”
Eskin, one of the nine board members who judged the BSO auditions, said Jojatu was chosen because of his passion and superior innate abilities.
“He’s an exceptional person, full of warmth; an outstanding, kind person who puts his heart and soul into his playing,” Eskin said. “He plays with intensity, big flare. He has a highly developed technique and a wonderful, lovely sound production, which is an integral part of one’s personality and something that can’t be taught.”
Jojatu said his passion for music began in his childhood and has grown substantially over the years.
“I love music,” Jojatu said. “I grew up with it and of course I’m motivated that way.”
He began playing the piano at the age of four, the violin at six and switched to the cello at eight.
“I loved the cello very much,” Jojatu said. “It is different from the violin but closer to the human voice and I found it very natural to play. My favorite musician is Pablo Casals who made the cello important.”
Over the years, Jojatu has performed a broad repertoire of music that ranges from classical to rock-and-roll.
“I’ve played for a lot of orchestras and chambers; done 10 solos with orchestras; and had a seven month job with the radio symphony in Bucharest,” Jojatu said. “I’ve freelanced at Boston and New England area orchestras.”
Now Jojatu will be able to add the BSO to his resume, which he said boosts his appeal and will help him get jobs in the future. According to Jojatu, being a part of the BSO demonstrates his strength as a cellist.
“Boston Symphony Orchestra, the name is so huge, ” he said.
As a BSO player, Jojatu said he faces a rigorous work schedule.
“There are four two-and-a-half hour rehearsals and four two hour concerts a week,” Jojatu said. “This is for 42 weeks. I get 10 weeks vacation.”
Despite his demanding schedule, Jojatu said he will stay at BU until he graduates in May 2003.
“Now my teachers are my colleagues,” Jojatu said, referring to Eskin and his former teacher Ronald Feldman, a 1970 CFA Graduate and BSO cellist.
Jojatu, who will perform in more than 180 concerts with the BSO this year cited a long list of aspirations beyond the BSO. He plans to participate in the Tanglewood Summer Festival and would like to play more chamber music in the future. He said he hopes to participate in the BU Chamber Competition; the winners play in the Boston Pops Orchestra in March. Jojatu also plans to leave Boston one day and become a traveling performer.
“I want the experience of a soloist ,” Jojatu said. “To play solos for orchestras across the country.”
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