Jeffrey Multer The Florida Orchestra Concertmaster

Show Notes

Recorded 02/08/2026 33 MIN 40 SEC

Released 02/25/2026

Episode 9 Jeffrey Multer The Florida Orchestra Concertmaster

This is Shaping Our Story where exemplary leaders talk about their success to help you thrive.

🎙️ Shaping Our Story: Jeffrey Multer on Leadership, Legacy & Life as a Concertmaster 

What does it take to lead from the first chair of a major symphony orchestra?

In this episode of Shaping Our Story, host Louise Krikorian sits down with Jeffrey Multer, Concertmaster of The Florida Orchestra since 2006. From starting violin at age five to studying at The Juilliard School — where his grandparents first met — Jeffrey shares his journey of carrying forward a rich family musical legacy while mentoring the next generation of musicians.

In This Episode, You’ll Discover:

• The true role and responsibilities of a concertmaster
• Behind-the-scenes insights into a professional symphony orchestra
• The discipline, mindset, and leadership required to thrive as a musician
• Lessons in passion, purpose, perseverance, and legacy
• How mentorship shapes future generations of artists

 Whether you’re a classical music lover, an aspiring musician, or a leader seeking inspiration, this conversation offers rare insight into artistry, dedication, and the pursuit of excellence.

🎧 Subscribe to Shaping Our Story for more conversations with exemplary leaders sharing ideas to help you thrive.

#JeffreyMulter #Concertmaster #TheFloridaOrchestra #ClassicalMusic #ShapingOurStory #Leadership #Violinist #OrchestraLife #ArtsEducation #PassionPurposePerseverance #MelRobbins #AngelaDuckworth #Grit #Juilliard #MusicalLegacy #MusicMentor #PalladiumChamberSeries #StrazCenterTampa #VisitTampaBay

LINKS

https://floridaorchestra.org/

https://mypalladium.org/palladium-chamber-series/

https://www.strazcenter.org

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Transcript

Hi, I'm Louise Krikorian, and this is Shaping Our Story where I talk with exemplary leaders about passion, purpose, and perseverance, to share ideas to encourage you to thrive.

Today our guest, Jeffrey Multer, has been Concertmaster of The Florida Orchestra since 2006. He started violin at age 5 and as the seventh member of his family, Jeff attended The Juilliard School in New York City, where his grandparents met. He continues his family’s musical legacy, sharing his passion for both performing and teaching violin to his students.

Welcome, Jeff Multer. Thank you for having me. I'm so excited. I feel like I should have dressed up. I should have worn my pearls for the orchestra. Yeah. I have enjoyed. Well were trying to move away from, you know, we definitely still wear our tails on certain nights, but we are definitely moving away from that super formal, uh, concert attire these days and pretty much all orchestras, so.

And that's interesting 'cause that's how I. 'cause I was wondering, should I put my fake pearls on, should I not? But then I thought, you know, when I look at everyone who's at the Florida Orchestra, I see people of all ages. Number one, I'm thrilled to see young children there and elementary, middle, high school, college age. I love it when the students are performing there. My son was a violist from middle school, high school and in college, and he still performs and he was one of the musicians who got to be at the Straz Center at, um, that's, yeah, that was just, just being out in the, in the foyer before the your performance.

Yeah. We do so things often and they're very successful. Yeah, I love that. And I would like to encourage more young people to have an appreciation for this music. So we're gonna be talking about your passion, your purpose, your perseverance, and then also, um, what this meant to you as, as a child as well. Um, I know you joined the Florida Orchestra as Concert Master in 2006 and.  Correct.

That actually means that you are one of four people who are a concert master, but you are the first solo violinist. Correct. Yeah. Right. 

Okay. Yeah, so there we, we do share, um, a lot of duties, the four of us, but um, for the big concerts, for a lot of the big solos, that's sort of me, I have to be on, on for those.

And then occasionally there'll be concerts. Where I will rotate off and one of my colleagues will take over, um, often for like a pops concert or perhaps a, uh, special concert, a rock concert, some of the interesting offerings that we do. But for the Masterwork series, where my boss, Michael Francis, our music directors on the podium, I would be there.

Mn-Hmm. Well, one of the things I love is sitting close to the podium, which is in the very front, which is not always an easy seat to get 'cause you're, you're right up front, you're right as first chair, you're right in the front of the orchestra and then you're, um, when you have a piano on stage, I love to sit so that I can see.

The keyboardist, the pianist, the keyboard itself. But I found that sometimes the best seats are up in the balcony or the mezzanine so that you can see everyone. Yeah, I think sight lines are better up there, and also the sound is more blended up there as well. Just no matter how great the concert hall is, if you're sitting right at the edge of the stage.

You know, a lot of people really like that, but I prefer to sit more up and back myself. Yeah. Right. Yeah. Well, speaking of different places that you've performed, you debuted at the Kennedy Center which is a wonderful hall, and you did that in 1993, so you were in your twenties when you debuted.

Mm-hmm. As a soloist. You've also performed around the world. You've taught in Miami, North Carolina, Maryland, Ohio, and at Julliard, which is a famous school of music in New York City. So. Yeah. Yeah. Teaching has been a very important part of, of my life, my performance life ever since I was kind of young. I, I really have always enjoyed teaching, and to be honest with you, it's something I'm very much looking forward to going back to after I retire from playing 150 concerts a year. So now I'm wondering when are you gonna retire? Oh, well, you know, um, I just had my big 60th birthday and, um. That was a fun party. Oh, it was fun that you could be there. Yeah. You know, we're thinking a lot about it. Me and my husband Eric, you know, we're talking a lot about it.

It's, it's not something that's gonna happen tomorrow, but, okay. But, um, as far as the, the schedule that I, that I keep now, um. You know, that's, it's not a, it's, it's a young person's schedule. I'm, I still feel young, but, um, I definitely will be looking forward to some time where I can, you know, have less concerts on my plate. But for right now, it's full steam ahead, you know. 

Okay. So, so of, of performing and teaching, what would you say is your passion or greatest interest? 

Well, I mean, they're both very different. Um, and I love them both. I love to perform sharing with an audience the, the, the great, you know, this great art form that I'm a part of, the beautiful music and in all different iterations, you know, be it orchestra, solo chamber, music, what have you.

Um, but teaching is something that is more of a, a lasting thing. I mean, you played a concert for people and it can be very life altering and wonderful and they can go away uplifted and all that. Um, I kind of think about playing a great concert, sort of like, you know, I'm a foodie, so eating an amazing meal in an incredible restaurant or something like that.

You know, and it really can be transformative. And I still remember meals from 20 years ago, so they do stay with you, but teaching. A young person or a young artist who's on their, wherever they are on their journey, that's something that's much more lasting. And it's, it's a much more lasting gift and more meaningful gift.

And I feel that it's our responsibility as performers and as artists to give back to the next, to, you know, to the next generation, to share what you learn from your great teachers and pass it on. And so then that becomes, you know, the information that I got from my teachers is something that they got from their teachers.

And so. You know, um, I, I, I was told things in my lessons that were told to people 200 years ago, you know, by some other famous violinist. And so it's just passed down through the generations and I feel like that is just a much more, uh, indelible thing. 

Well, some of your teachers included Louis Kaplan, Schmuel Ana, Akana, I said this perfectly before Ashkenazi. Oh, yeah. Gerald Fishbach and Arnold Steinhardt. So who would you say was the first person who inspired you?

Because you began violence studies at the age of five, and then you were the seventh Multer to have attended Julliard, and that's where your grandparents met.

Right. So. Honestly, my family, my dad's side of the family are all musicians. Um, and so my earliest inspirations were really my, my family, my father, pianist, and, uh, his brother, his older brother, and his younger sister. They were all pianists who went to Julliard. And, um, and their mother was also a pianist. My grandfather was a singer.

So the, the inspiration really early, came. Excuse me. Came from, came from the family and just music was always in the house. My dad was always practicing piano. He, you know, so that was really, um. You know, the thing. And then I started very young in through the Suzuki method. Um, and so my first Suzuki teacher was really my first memorable, you know, violin influence.

And then these other people that you mentioned, I, I worked with when I was much older, you know, at Julliard or whatever, much more advanced. And they were all incredibly inspiring. But, um, yeah, it, it, you know, it takes so quite a community to get somebody started on an instrument and along the path. 

Well, we were talking about teaching and I was just thinking about, this is one question that I, I love to ask. Um, I was watching the podcast with Mel Robbins and Angela Duckworth and Angela Duckworth's specialty in psychology as looking at grit, and so she thinks about purpose a lot. Would you agree that purpose is having a sense of responsibility and then acting with the intention of helping others? 

I mean, absolutely. I, I, I think that, um, when it comes to what I do or the way that I approach what I do, um, certainly that is completely true when it comes to all teaching and mentoring and coaching, uh, others, um, young or old. Uh, when it comes to performance, it's really just about, you know, getting the work done and being prepared and being a good colleague, um, and do, you know, and trying to help the organization that you're being, you're a part of at the time, um, to grow.

So it's, um, yeah, there is, there is also very much an element of. Isolation in preparing for what I do. You know, I spend a ton of hours all by myself standing in my studio, practicing all alone. So, um, it's sort of an interesting mix. Yeah. 

Hmm. So I'm wondering if you wouldn't mind saying what your biggest professional failure was and what did you learn from it?

Hmm. That's an interesting question. Well. You learn from all your failures. I have failures, you know, every single day, uh, every single time I try to make, you know, get a shift to sound better or do something else, you know? And, um, but you know, I never had one of those sort of epic fall-on-your-face Hollywood moments.

Um, as a, as a performer. I certainly had performances that didn't go great, but I, when I think about what you're asking, the essence of what you're asking might have been sort of, when I actually goes back to right around the time that I was becoming a decent violinist, I, you know, I would, I auditioned as a younger person for Julliard pre-college and didn't get in. And I found that to be really, really crushing and it kind of made me reexamine like, okay, you know, I really need to buckle down and do some serious work here on my playing and clean it up and get it up to a certain level. So that may be the essence of what you're asking.

It didn't happen as a professional, but it was, it was a very, you know, changing life, changing moment. And it's something that I. I try to work on with the students that I work with. Um. It's very hard to develop the discipline on violin at an early age, but it's so, you know, it's so important. You know, I, I joke with people that, you know, if you're not playing a concerto with The Boston Symphony, by the time you're 18, you're really over the hill.

And, um, it's kind of a joke, but it's actually kind of true because if you look on their website, you're gonna see soloists that are in their early twenties that are just amazing. And the young people that I work with are sometimes bound for big conservatories, big music schools. They're trying to do competitions, and you know, the sooner you develop that discipline, the better.

Mm-hmm. Well in the, um, uh, 2014 in, uh, there was a February episode of the WEDU Arts Plus, um, segment where you said that, um, one of your teachers told you, “You're either getting better or you're getting worse.”

Yeah, that's absolutely true. That's a pretty powerful statement, and that, that was actually, I would say she was, um, a wonderful and is an incredible teacher. Her name is Miriam Fried. She teaches at the New England, uh, Conservatory. And at the time she was teaching in Bloomington, Indiana, and I went to play for her a couple of times because I really, I really admire her playing so much when she was playing as a soloist many years ago. I heard her and I was working on some repertoire that she knows really well, and she helped me out.

She did me a favor and that was something she said. And it is just, you know, it was such a great comment. I, I'll never forget it. And it's absolutely true. You know, there is no stasis, you know, uh, and playing an instrument like violin is, it's, there is a very, it's artistic of course, but there's a, there's an athletic element to it in that you have to practice in a certain way, um, that it's sort of like a tennis player has to go hit their serve every day or they're not gonna feel confident. And it's the same with violin. Those, those small tiny muscles need to be exercised carefully every single day or you're just not going to make the progress you need to do, need to make. And, um, yeah, it's, it's a, it's an exhausting thing. It takes all the time you have. Yeah. 

Well, it sounds like it's hard, but would you say that when you were. Five years old that it was, it came naturally to you? 

Yes. I think as a young person. Okay. I, I had a certain amount of natural ability, which I think everybody who is decent has to have a certain amount of natural, physical gift for the instrument and then some kind of a natural mental gift for it, but that only gets you so far. And so it is incredibly hard and uh, no matter how talented and gifted you are, physically, mentally, you have to put in the work and, um, everybody who is good works hard. That's just.

So did you, did you, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt, but did you ever feel like just giving up when things were getting hard?

No, I got very frustrated. I get very frustrated every day, um mm-hmm. Uh, you know, uh, and, and will for the rest of my, as long as I perform. But, um, I never, I never saw myself giving up. I never got to that point, you know.

So what or who keeps you inspired? 

Um, well, I. Geez, you know, we're so lucky, um, to be kind of in this, this, this art form that I, that I'm part of it, it comes with its own amazing, built-in inspiration of this, this incredible music that exists.

And, and so, uh, every day I think, well, what do I have to do for work today? Well, today, let's see. I have to practice Schumann and Mozart and Strauss and Dvořák. I mean, that is that, you know, that's my work. So all of those guys, um, you know, just amazing inspiring music. So the music itself sort of has its own built in thing that keeps you, keeps you going even when, when you're having a hard time or you've got a really tough schedule and you've just got a ton of music to practice.

Um. But certainly a lot of my teachers along the way and friends and of course my husband Eric, and, you know, just, um, it's kind of a, it's good to kind of get out a little bit of the, of the insular music world and, and spend time with what we call real people. You know, people that, um, that don't do what we do. Right.

Some of my, some of my younger colleagues call them Muggles and, um because what we do is very, uh, it very is very insular, but it also does provide tremendous inspiration, you know, so, um, last night we performed a Bruckner’s Symphony in the Florida Orchestra, and it's just an incredibly moving piece that you wouldn't necessarily think on your day off to go sit down and listen to, but when you get the opportunity to play it with the great orchestra and your colleagues and your friends, you know, that'll, that's, I'm still kind of glowing from that. So. 

I can imagine that's just such a wonderful experience. I have had the opportunity to stand on stage and, and sing with some wonderful musicians. I was in a Mendelssohn performance choir here in Tampa and singing with, um, people who are levels above me. I just felt like I was just rising and rising and rising and that afterwards it would take quite a while to just kind of like, settle down. It's just such a beautiful experience to to, to perform.

So I understand what you, you're talking about being inspired by such beautiful music that has been performed for hundreds of years. So what I, what I'm thinking about is some of the things that you've done in the past, you've spent one week in New York City to perform and record with the All Star Orchestra, which was, uh, a special that was televised. And um, then you also coach students here in the Tampa Bay area.

So, what is it that you're hoping to do next?

Well, I think that, you know, as, um. As maybe retiring from such a huge concert schedule becomes more of a reality, I really would like to get back into teaching. Um, I really don't have that much time in my schedule now to teach, um, on a regular basis.

So when I, I'm approached by students locally who want private lessons. I always say, I, I'd love to coach you here, you get you ready for your audition, but I, I won't be available every week. And talented young people at that age need structure and they need a teacher to be around and available. And of course you could do a lot of stuff on Zoom, as, as we are now, but it's not the same.

Um, so I'm looking forward to getting, having a schedule where I can get back into that. So whether that invol, I'm kind of hoping that maybe I will find a teaching job that suits me well in a few years that I can do till I'm dead because I'll need a, what is, yeah. I need a project, you know? Yeah. 

I understand that.Yeah. Yeah. What, what is your advice for someone who's just starting out? 

Well, um, you know, it is just to always, I guess, just explore the art form to the best of your ability at all times and to um, embrace the, um, the journey of how to, how to get better. Um, whether that is, you know, improving your, your physical approach to the instrument or your mental approach to the music.

Um, try to. Um, I always tell, tell my students, you know, every composer, uh, that we play, you know, living or dead. I mean, if they're alive, we're lucky 'cause we can speak to them hopefully, and, and get some ideas. But those who are no longer with us, which is many of 'em. You have to get to know them like they're a really good friend.

And so getting to know somebody to the point where you call 'em a good friend takes time. And, um, that is just a journey that is really fun, but you have to be really dedicated to doing that. So if you want to play a piece by Mozart, you have to be Mozart's friend. And that means, you know, not only do you know that piece extremely well, you know, all the pieces that he wrote surrounding it extremely well.

You've read all of his correspondence about it. You've read everything that people have written about him at that time. You know, you understand the politics and the societal pressures of the time that he was living in, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. You know, it's just, you'd have to immerse yourself in order to be able to speak the composer's language.

So does that include to know who the composer was writing for? 

Absolutely. If that was the case. Yeah. Some, some composers, of course, they, they dedicated a piece to this person or they were writing something 'cause of this happened, or that other times they might just be writing an abstract piece of music, you know, because they had to have something they, they were like me, they're under contract, perform something or get something done and you know, they have to have a piano concerto ready by next week. And so that's what they did. Mm-hmm. I think it's also helpful if you have the means to do it, um, if you maybe can do this with your school, um, or have the funds to do it, is to travel to the countries where the composers lived, if that's possible.

Absolutely, I mean, yes, it's wonderful. There's nothing like standing in the church where Bach worked for many years and feeling that weight. You know, it's wonderful. Um, absolutely. Um, but you can travel if you don't, aren’t fortunate enough to be able to have a school trip that takes you to Leipzig or something like that, you can go there on the Internet, you know, and, and you can, you, it's wonderful. I tell my students, I mean, as much as there are things about the Internet that I'm really not a fan of, I think that as a, as an as, as a musician, we are all amateur detectives and we're always trying to uncover things, and it's very helpful it's wonderful to be able to click on a link and go look at the manuscript of the Tchaikovsky violin concerto in Moscow, you know, and, and see his handwriting. And the notes that he wrote with people he was writing it with and all that. Um, that's something, and then it's another thing to click on YouTube and watch the greatest violinist play the piece that you're working on.

It's a free violin lesson, you know? So that's a resource that I didn't have as a young person, and so I always encourage people to get the most out of that. 

Right. So we've talked about you rehearsing and, um. I think one thing that you've said before in another interview is that you rehearse about eight to nine hours a day when you're not in a proper rehearsal.

So in, on your day off, what do you do consistently, either when you're rehearsing or outside of her rehearsing? 

Right. Well, um, so we have a funny way of terminology when it comes to, um, what we do in terms of the work we do. So when you're playing by yourself in your room, we call that practicing. I don't know why.

Then when you get with other people, you call it rehearsing. I don't know why that is. It just is, it's just a funny thing. So, so when I'm practicing, I'm by myself and I'm, I'm working out problems. I'm just trying to solve problems, trying to get music ready, up to high level performance. Um, consistently I try to allow myself every morning or whenever I get started, uh, a 20 minute or so window where I can just work on the physical, my relationship to the instrument, you know, so, mm-hmm. I, us, you know, often violinists, they do scales, piano, you know, we use scales and exercises, that kind of thing. I try to, I, I do try to do those, but, um, not in a kind of mechanical, sort of do it the same way, everyday way. I try to find a way to use my technical exercises to build, to work on problems that I'm experiencing in my playing every day so that it is basically called up. It's just a warmup, but I try to give myself that warmup time so that I'm not always just diving right into the hardest stuff, which is really not a good idea, you know?

I mean, sometimes it comes at, sometimes it works out okay, but if you just like. Pick up your violin and start trying to play the hardest thing that you have to do, it's a really good chance you're setting yourself up for failure there, and you're gonna be very frustrated very quickly. Whereas if you warm up properly and give  yourself a little bit of an on-ramp, things tend to go better.

So I try to do that consistently. It doesn't always work because there's sometimes so much music on the stand and just, you know, if I have a rehearsal with the orchestra and I haven't looked at page seven yet, well, you know. It's gonna be page seven, you know? There we go. 

Right, right. What do you, what do you play for fun that would just sort of like if you're stuck on a piece, you would just go to like Fiddler on the Roof?

Oh, well, you know, for fun, I mean, my goodness, the violin, there's so much wonderful music written for the violin over the hundreds and hundreds of years that it's been around. So, you know, just depending on your mood, you could play some unaccompanied Bach or you could play some Mozart or you could play some stuff, more recent stuff or some popular songs you could play, you know, something from the Great American Songbook or you know, but basically, um, yeah, I wish, I wish I had time to do that and just say, okay, I'm just gonna play something for fun now.

Unfortunately, you just have to go. Uh, go get, you know, whatever, go get another cup of coffee and come back to the problem. Yeah. I mean, if it were fun, they'd call it baseball. That's what I tell my students, so

Yes, yes, yes. Yeah, I've heard that. Yeah. Well, I've seen a wonderful video that, um, it was back in 2020, you were up in North Carolina and you were performing the Third Movement of Bach A Minor Sonata and it is so calming. It's on the official, uh, TFO, The Florida Orchestra YouTube channel. Mm-hmm.

And I'm wondering where else can our listeners connect with you online?

Well, you know, I have, um, that was a project that we did, uh, during the COVID shutdown and our orchestra, The Florida Orchestra, were just absolutely visionary in the way that they were able to keep us sort of working and, um, not shutting down.

And so we all kind of put videos up thanking our donors and our organization. And that was one of them. I'm not a big online person when it comes to stuff. There's a few clips here and there of me. Um, the best way to, to, you know, see me play or is just to come to Florida Orchestra 'cause I'm almost always there and it's just a great resource and a great orchestra that is just, um, growing, um, all the time.

And, um, come and join me, um, for my chamber music series at the Palladium, the Palladium Chamber Players, um, the Chamber Series we're calling it. And that occurs on Wednesday nights throughout, um, the winter months into the early spring. Um, um, but yeah, I don't, I don't have a really big online presence. I don't do a lot of videos.

I don't post a lot of stuff. I, I don't post anything about work. It's sort of a, a thing for me. Mm-hmm. I feel like the Internet is absolutely flooded with a lot of, uh, self-promotional stuff and not to be judgmental of it. People feel they need to do that. I don't, because I've chosen a career path where I don't need to promote myself, and I love that. It's so great. 

So you had mentioned the Palladium Chamber, uh, Players. That's in St. Pete, St. Petersburg, Florida. Yes. Mm-hmm. And you have been the artistic director since 2010? Mm-hmm. And you're performing on the Main Stage, so yes. That's so exciting. I love that the Main Stage is beautiful at the Palladium.

It's a lovely hall and you know, many years ago when I, when I came to the area. I, I, uh, was a chamber, you know, I played chamber music as my main job. Before that, I was in string quartets and such. And, um, when I got here, people wanted me to start a chamber music series, and I was like, you know, I, I, I just took a new job and I want to kind of learn the job.

I don't really have time to do that right now, but after a few years, they wore me down. So we started something up and it, it went really well in, uh, Paul Wilborn at the Palladium. We worked together and he really, really was gungho about it and supported it and helped me with it a lot. And so now we have this wonderful support system.

Laurel Borden is our wonderful artistic administrator, and, um, we’ve been going for 12 years or so and it's incredibly successful, so I encourage people to come and check that out. I don't always play. I play a lot, but we also have a lot of wonderful guest artists that come in and it's just, it's world class chamber music right here in St. Pete. 

Good. Well, I am going to include The Florida Orchestra and the Palladium Chamber Players. I'll ,we'll include both of those links at the end.  Well, thank you so much. I really appreciate your time and I love hearing you perform with The Florida Orchestra, and I really would like to encourage everyone to go, um, students and adults alike.

I think it's just, um, a wonderful time to spend with family and loved ones. And if you can get to the pre-concert, um, the, the talk beforehand really guides you through the music so that you can have a better understanding. Michael Francis is the director and he does a great job. 

Yes, he's a wonderful communicator and he's so committed to giving people, um, giving them an opening to enjoy music even if you've never been to a concert before in your life. That's the whole point of it, and he's really gifted at that. And we also offer so many different types of concerts and the website is quite, you know, basically you can just go on there and see what might appeal to you.

So you don't have to guess, you know, you can see what type of concert you would see? Um, because we offer everything from the most, you know, Beethoven and Mozart kind of stuff to, you know, whatever, you know, Beatles, you know, you know, we have cover bands and all kinds of really fun stuff that are just much more entertaining, just sort of lighthearted stuff.

So you can do, you know, you can run the whole gamut with The Florida Orchestra and I encourage everyone to check it out. 

All right. Well, thank you so much again. I really appreciate your time and your talent. Thank you for having me. Okay. I look forward to seeing you next time. Yes. Wonderful. Mm-hmm. Bye bye.

To learn more visit FloridaOrchestra dot org and MyPalladium dot org forward slash Palladium dash Chamber dash Series forward slash. 

Thank you for joining us at Shaping Our Story and thanks to our guest, Jeffrey Multer whose consistent practice and dedication to his art form is proof that he combines his passion with perseverance. If you enjoyed this week’s episode click on follow and leave a comment to inspire us OR suggest a guest.  And remember…. if this made you think, share the thought. See you next time.