Jonathan Carney

Jonathan Carney is an American violinist and conductor. He is the concertmaster of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra has announced his intention to retire at the end of its 2026-2027 season. Mr. Carney is the longest serving concertmaster in the history of the orchestra and in recognition of his outstanding service to the orchestra, he will be named the BSO’s first concertmaster laureate in its 109-year history in 2027.

Career Carney grew up in Tenafly, New Jersey and graduated from Tenafly High School. He studied at the Juilliard School with Christine Dethier and Ivan Galamian.

He moved to London on a Leverhulme Fellowship Award to study at the Royal College of Music with Trevor Williams.

In 1991 he became leader of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and appeared as soloist with them in the UK and beyond. he recorded the Nielsen concerto with them in 1997 (on a Domenico Montagnana instrument). The orchestra has announced his intention to retire at the end of its 2026-2027 season. In 2018, Katherine Needleman, principal oboist of the Baltimore Symphony, filed a harassment complaint against the orchestra with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), accusing Carney of harassment and retaliation. The orchestra hired an independent investigator, and the investigation concluded there was no hostile work environment so Carney was not disciplined.

Needleman closed out her EEOC complaint in 2023, saying it had been several years since she heard anything from the agency, and filed a Freedom of Information Act to obtain all the documentation from her filing. Carney remains with the orchestra.