Born in 1968 in Timisoara, Romania, violinist
Calin Ovidiu Lupanu serves as Concertmaster of the Charlotte Symphony for his sixth season in 2009- 10. Lupanu completed his undergraduate studies at the Music Academy in Bucharest, where he served as Concertmaster of the conservatory’s Chamber Orchestra. During his summers as a student, Lupanu performed in festival orchestras in Lanciano, Italy as Assistant Concertmaster and the Young Soloists Orchestra “Fiori Rari” in Lugano, Switzerland as Concertmaster. Upon graduation, Lupanu was appointed Assistant Professor at the Music Academy. While in Bucharest, Lupanu joined the newly formed Lipatti String Quartet as First Violin, continuing in that capacity for ten years. In 1995, the quartet was named Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, where Lupanu earned a Performance Certificate in Chamber Music, studying with Ralph Evans, Efim Boico, and the members of the Fine Arts String Quartet. The Quartet accumulated numerous honors, including Fourth Prize in the London International String Quartet Competition, and Second Prizes in the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition and the Dmitri Shostakovich Competition in St. Petersburg, Russia. In 1997, the Quartet became Quartet-in-Residence at Northern Illinois University, working with the renowned Vermeer Quartet. While there, Lupanu completed his Master degree and earned the soloist’s Performance Certificate. Additionally, the Lipatti Quartet has performed master classes with many of the world’s most respected chamber ensembles, including the Amadeus, American, Borodin, Cleveland, Emerson, Guarneri, Juilliard, Orion, Takacs, and Tokyo String Quartets. The Lipatti Quartet toured extensively in the USA, Germany, Great Britain, France, and Romania.
Lupanu’s awards as a soloist include the First Prizes of the International Violin Competition in Stresa, Italy and the National Violin Competition in Suceava, Romania. Prior to coming to the Charlotte Symphony, he served as Assistant Concertmaster of the Green Bay Symphony Orchestra, Concertmaster of the Evansville Philharmonic, principal player in the Alabama Symphony, and Concertmaster of the West Virginia Symphony. In addition to his season-long responsibilities in Charlotte, Lupanu maintains a busy summer schedule, participating in such festivals as Bach and Beyond, Aspen, Lower Saxony, Strings in the Mountains, and the Colorado Music Festival, where he has served as Concertmaster since 2004.
In December 2008, Lupanu was featured on WDAV’s “Performance Today,” Live from St. Peter’s Church, performing Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 and “Winter” from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.
Lupanu has collaborated with the Fine Arts Quartet, Angela Cheng, Jon Nakamatsu, Andres Cardenes, Lynn Harrell and Desmond Hoebig, and was featured as a soloist with the Evansville Philharmonic, Alabama Symphony, Green Bay Symphony, Charlotte Symphony, and the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra.
Currently on the faculty of Gardner-Webb University as Artist-in-Residence, Lupanu resides with his wife Monica Boboc, also a member of the Charlotte Symphony, and their two-year-old son Matei. His violin is a Pierre Silvestre, made in Lyon, France in 1857.
