He was a cellist born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, who graduated from the Northeast High School in Philadelphia and went on to study at the Curtis Institute of Music in the Class of 1966. He took part in a student concert there in 1964 as part of the Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra performing Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 6.
He went on to perform with an ensemble in a selection of works by Vincent Perischetti at the University of Delaware Contemporary Arts Festival in 1973. He was a member of the faculty at the University of Delaware.
He served 50 years with the Concerto Soloists Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, later just known as the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and with them performed countless concerts and productions with the orchestra, which include Handel’s Lucretia in 1985, A Chekhov Trilogy in 1996 and 1997. He also performed on their holiday recording Gloria! Gloria! in 1987 when the orchestra accompanied Benita Valente and The Philadelphia Singers.
He was also a member of the Dallas Symphony, principal cellist of the Philly Pops, principal cellist of the Santa Fe Opera for 32 seasons and a member of the offshoot band from the Chamber Orchestra known as The Colonial Players who put on a production called Colonial Holiday in 2004. He also performed with the Schola Nova who are the residential ensemble for the International Institute of Culture.
During his long and distinguished career as a classical cellist, Holesovsky served as a member of the Dallas Symphony, a faculty member of the University of Delaware, the principal cellist of The Philly Pops and the principal cellist at The Santa Fe Opera for thirty-two summer seasons.
He died from complications after a long illness in June 2015 when he was 72 years old. The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia set up the James Holesovsky Memorial Fund with a special public memorial service in his name.
The Philadelphia Singers recordings
Adeste Fidelis (Frederick Oakeley/John Francis Wade)
RCA 6559-2-RC (Gloria! Gloria!)
Soprano – Benita Valente
Concerto Soloists Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia
Conductor – Michael Korn
Sources:
- http://chamberorchestra.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/PRESS-RELEASE-The-Chamber-Orchestra-of-Philadelphia-Remembers-Cellist-and-Founding-Member-James-Holesovsky-1943-2015.pdf
- http://www.curtis.edu/about-curtis/history/full-alumni-listing/view-by-instrument.html?&group=Cello
- http://www.archive.org/stream/recitalprograms6366curt/recitalprograms6366curt_djvu.txt
- http://www.chamberorchestra.org/main.cfm?page=musicians
- http://www.chamberorchestra.org/pdf/COP_08-09_Brochure.pdf
- http://www.chamberorchestra.org/pdf/0708Brochure.pdf
- http://frankhamilton.org/ph/ph3.pdf
- https://www.nypl.org/ead/3379?iamaselector=
- http://www.searchuu.com/doc/164987_colonial_holiday_program
- http://www.iiculture.org/schola_nova_group.asp