Cincinnati Symphony names inaugural fellow in early-career training program

Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra has launched a new training program designed to prepare early-career musicians for professional orchestral careers while expanding representation on concert stages around the world.

The new CSO Resident Fellowship Program will provide emerging musicians with intensive, season-long training and hands-on experience performing with one of the nation’s leading orchestras. For the inaugural season, the orchestra selected cellist Osheen Manukyan as the first fellow. He’ll perform full time with the CSO during the 2026-27 season.

“We’re proud to launch our new CSO Resident Fellowship Program as it reflects our long-standing commitment to artistic excellence while expanding access to high-level professional development opportunities for talented early-career musicians,” said Robert McGrath, the orchestra’s president and CEO. 

“Like athletes training for the Olympics, our Fellows will have the opportunity to fully commit to their craft through the CSO Resident Fellowship Program because it removes barriers to focused training while simultaneously providing one of the most immersive experiences in the industry today,” he continued. “We’re thrilled to welcome Osheen Manukyan as our inaugural fellow.”

How the program works

In a release, the CSO described the fellowship as a “rigorous, excellence-driven training program” designed with the dual goal of increasing representation in classical music and preparing young musicians for success in auditions.

To do that, the CSO will work with the fellows over the course of up to 37 weeks during the September-to-May orchestral season. The fellow will rehearse and perform alongside the orchestra’s musicians while receiving financial support and individualized career development planning.

The orchestra selected Manukyan following a competitive national audition process. An Armenian-American cellist based in Los Angeles, Manukyan graduated from the Juilliard School in New York, where he studied on scholarship with Timothy Eddy. Before attending Juilliard, he studied with Richard Naill at the Colburn School in California.

Manukyan has served as principal cellist under conductors Marin Alsop, Stéphane Denève and JoAnn Falletta and has appeared at several major United States festivals, including the Music Academy of the West Summer Festival in California, Sarasota Music Festival in Florida and the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado, where he received a fellowship. He also won the Colburn Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition in 2017 and appeared on NPR’s “From the Top” at Walt Disney Concert Hall.

The CSO Resident Fellowship Program also gives fellows opportunities to mentor and coach students through its learning programs and participate in community engagement projects.

That’s something near and dear to Manukyan, who maintains a private cello studio and mentors young cellists at the Hollywood Youth Orchestra, a program of Harmony Project. He also serves as artistic director of Kontrapunktus Baroque in Los Angeles.

“It’s a great honor and privilege to have the chance to work with this incredible orchestra,” Manukyan said. “I see the CSO Resident Fellowship as a wonderful opportunity for both professional and personal growth, and I’m very much looking forward to connecting meaningfully with the Cincinnati community.”