Lorenzo Mazzamuto just started the hardest job at an orchestra, one that will also require balancing life in Philadelphia and in Italy. And he’s thrilled for the challenge. He debuted in April as the concertmaster Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania, Sicily, beating out numerous other applicants.

“The concertmaster is the most diffi cult job in the orchestra,” he explained. “You’re the link between the conductor and the entire orchestra. You have to have the right personality and people skills.” And commitment. And energy. “The job doesn’t end. It’s always something.”