Two young brothers from the Czech Republic, Matous and Simon Michal, have joined the second violin section of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Their appointments, announced Feb. 4 by Music Director Riccardo Muti, took effect Feb. 1.

Both brothers served consecutive summers as concertmaster of Switzerland’s Verbier Festival Orchestra, and also held concertmaster posts at the Juilliard School in New York City and the Music Academy of the West Festival Orchestra in Santa Barbara, Calif. Last summer, Matous was in Chicago, performing in the first violin section of the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra. In 2014, he was concertmaster for the Verbier, a post that his younger brother subsequently held in 2015.

At Juilliard, Matous was concertmaster for four years while completing a bachelor of music degree there, and also served as concertmaster at the Manhattan School of Music, where he received his master’s degree in orchestral performance in 2014. While concertmaster of the Music Academy of the West Festival Orchestra, he also was a finalist in the Music Academy’s Concerto Competition in 2013. In 2010, he completed his undergraduate studies at the Prague Conservatory, where he also served as concertmaster.

Born in Prague, Matous began violin studies at age 4. Simon, 22, who’s a year younger than Matous, was born in Nachod, the Czech Republic.  Matous and Simon both took honors at the Kocian International Violin Competition and the International Radio Competition for Young Musicians “Concertino Praga.”

Simon was concertmaster with the Juilliard Symphony and the Juilliard Opera from 2011 to 2015. At the Music Academy of the West Festival Orchestra, he was concertmaster for three years. In 2015, he was selected to be a Global Academy Fellow of the New York Philharmonic. He also served as concertmaster for the Prague Conservatory Symphony, where he received his undergraduate degree in violin performance in 2011. Simon is currently working on his master of music degree in orchestral violin at the Manhattan School of Music, and graduated last year from Juilliard School with a bachelor’s degree in music.

TOP: Matous (here on viola) and Simon Michal perform in recital in 2011.