Willa Finck joined The Philadelphia Orchestra in 2023. Prior to her appointment she was a member of the first violin section of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra from 2017 to 2023. She earned her bachelor's degree summa cum laude and a Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music in 2018, studying with Mikhail Kopelman. In the summers of 2021–23 she performed with the Verbier Festival Orchestra.
A native of Boone, North Carolina, Ms. Finck grew up playing Celtic and American folk music alongside her classical studies, which she began at the age of two. She has released a number of albums throughout her performing career: with her family band of 12 years, The Forget-Me-Nots; with her folk band in Rochester, New York, Copper Hill; and as a self-titled solo project.
Ms. Finck attended the University of North Carolina School of the Arts for her senior year of high school, studying with Ida Bieler and Sarah Johnson. She plays a 2020 violin made by her father, luthier David Finck.
Photo by Ethan Durell