Cristina Muresan will be the featured violinist Jan. 26.

Violinist Cristina Muresan, whose 1890 violin was made by the French luthier Paul Bailey, will perform with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra at 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 26, on The University of Findlay campus in Winebrenner Seminary. The performance is part of the University’s 2006-2007 Concert and Lecture Series.

The orchestra will perform “Academic Festival Overture” by Johannes Brahms; “Violin Concerto No. 2 in D Minor” by Henryk Wieniawski featuring Muresan; and “Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, Opus 95,” more commonly known as “The New World Symphony,” by Antonin Dvorak. There will be a 15-minute intermission before the final selection.

Prior to coming to the Toledo Symphony Orchestra, Muresan was concertmaster for the New World Symphony, Miami, Fla., under Michael Tilson Thomas, and from 1991-1995 she was violinist for the National Romanian Opera. She continues to perform with Chicago’s Grant Park Symphony, and she is a frequent guest violinist for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

With the Grant Park Symphony, Muresan records yearly under the Cedille Record label. A recent release was nominated for a 2004 GRAMMY® Award. As a concertmaster for the Bowling Green Philharmonia, she recorded “The Composer’s Voice” for Albany Records, N.Y. A recording of “Beethoven Alive” with the New World Symphony was broadcast on CBS Sunday Morning. In 2000, she founded the Odyssey string quartet, a yearly feature of the Toledo Symphony’s Chamber Series.

Muresan began studying the violin at the age of 7. She holds a bachelor’s degree in music performance from “G. Dima” Music Academy, Romania, where she was a student of emeritus Stefan Ruha, and a master’s degree in music performance from Bowling Green State University where she studied with professor Vasile Beluska. In 1999, she was awarded a full fellowship to study with the late Isaac Stern in France.

Chelsea Tipton II is resident conductor and has appeared with major orchestras in the United States include the Chicago Symphony, Nashville Symphony, Louisville Philharmonic, the Boston Pops Orchestra, the New World Symphony and the Atlanta Symphony.

Now in its 63rd Season, the Toledo Symphony Orchestra continues to impact, educate, inform and engage a wide audience in the world of magic created through music. Last year more than 300,000 people heard the orchestra. This season, the group’s schedule includes more than 500 performances in concert halls, public schools, community centers and on university campuses.

Tickets are $25 for general admission, $20 for senior citizens and $10 for students. Admission for UF undergraduate and graduate students is free, but a ticket is required. UF faculty and staff may purchase tickets for $15. Tickets are available by calling the Box Office at 419-434-5335.