Rolf Persinger

Rolf Persinger was born on December, 12 1919 and died in Arizona on March 16, 1997, survived by his wife, Arden. He was the son of the violinist and San Francisco Symphony Concertmaster, Louis Persinger. After serving in the U.S. Army during World War 2, Persinger joined the the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in the 1948-1949 season. He was promoted to Principal viola of that orchestra 1950-1951, selected by Antal Dorati. He was Assistant Principal viola of the Chicago Symphony 1954-1963 and concurrently was Principal viola of the Lyric Opera Orchestra of Chicago. In 1963, Josef Krips, seeking to re-build the San Francisco Symphony selected Persinger as Principal viola, a post he held until 1976.