José Maria Blumenschein

José Maria Blumenschein (concertmaster and leader), a native of Freiburg (Germany), was born of Brazilian parents and currently serves as first concertmaster of the WDR Radio Symphony Orchestra in Cologne, after having been Associate Concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra for three seasons. During this time with the WDR, he also took two seasons off to perform as first concertmaster of the Vienna State Opera and Philharmonic.

As a passionate leader, Blumenschein regularly performs with many orchestras and ensembles, including the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, London Symphony Orchestra, Bayerische Staatsoper, Dresden Staatskapelle, NDR and Radio Orchestra.

Blumenschein is also a founding member of Kammermusik Köln, a chamber music series in Cologne founded by members of WDR Radio, Gürzenich Orchestra and Cologne Conservatory members to be the city’s first all-year chamber music series.

Born in 1985, Blumenschein received his first violin lesson at the age of four in Freiburg, Germany, at the Pflüger Institute for Highly Gifted Children. In 1990, he began studies with Vesra Kramarowa in Mannheim. In 2001, Blumenschein was accepted to the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with conductor and violinist Joseph Silverstein and served as concertmaster of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra.

Blumenschein has been performing with the Mahler Orchestra for almost two decades. Since 2023, he has shared the MCO’s concertmaster position with Matthew Truscott.