On Aug. 28, Adrian Semo of Frederick at 89. He is survived by wife Nora M. Semo; daughter Alina M. Semo (David C. Wolf); and grandchildren Alexandra R. Kofsky (Andrew M. Diamond) and Joshua M. Kofsky. He was predeceased by parents Raschelle and Benzion Semo. An active soloist and chamber musician, he served as the associate concertmaster of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra for 30 years until his retirement in 2003. Born in Bucharest, Romania, he began his violin studies at 5. He graduated from the Bucharest Conservatory and then joined the George Enescu Philharmonic as first violinist. He was awarded first prize in the Romanian National Competition, and led the baroque classical music quintet Concertino. After emigrating to the United States with his wife, daughter and mother, he joined the BSO and performed numerous times as a soloist and as concertmaster. He also gave violin master classes and served on the violin faculty of Essex Community College.After retiring from the BSO, he took only a short respite from performing, and returned to play for pleasure. He joined the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra as a guest concertmaster and the National Philharmonic after moving to Rockville with his wife to be closer to his daughter and grandchildren. Over the course of more than 15 years, he taught numerous students and also coached the first violin section of all Maryland Classic Youth Orchestras. He also managed to travel extensively with his wife overseas, with a particular fondness for Italy.
Contributions may be sent to Hungry for Music at hungryformusic.org.
