Ted Panken  

If only because openings for JLCO’s 15 permanent positions appear about as frequently as sub-freezing days on the equator, this would be a newsworthy event, as was this season’s hiring of 25-year-old saxophonist Abdias Armenteros, who’d frequently filled in for Walter Blanding in recent years. But the announcement stood out for a much more consequential reason: Tarantino, 32, is the first woman to become a permanent orchestra member since it became an official department of Lincoln Center in 1991.

“I’ve looked to be global for a long time,” Alfredo Rodríguez told DownBeat in 2020. “I like to explore music from every part of the world.”