High on the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra's wish list for a new concertmaster was a violinist who could lead the group forward while connecting to its illustrious past.

No one envisioned the violinist also would connect to his own past in a remarkable way.

The PSO and its music director, Manfred Honeck, on Saturday announced the hiring of Noah Bendix-Balgley, 27, who is relatively unknown in the field but set the orchestra's audition process on its head with his late entry into the competition. It turns out the American violinist is not the first in his family to play in the group.

"I was not aware of it until a few weeks ago -- my great-grandfather, Samuel J. Leventhal, played in the PSO under Victor Herbert," said Mr. Bendix-Balgley, who is living in Munich. "He played under Brahms in Leipzig, Germany, and joined the PSO as a 20-year-old in 1900, leaving in 1904."

PG VIDEO: NOAH BENDIX-BALGLEY

For the orchestra and music director steeped in the Austro-German tradition, it was welcome, if bizarre news. For Mr. Bendix-Balgley (pronounced ball-GLEE), it was a sign: "To discover this after I decided to come here was a confirmation that I should come."

Mr. Bendix-Balgley, who was born in Asheville, N.C., has signed a three-year contract with orchestra management, with terms undisclosed. His first concert in the new post will be at the Sept. 17 gala concert. He replaces Andres Cardenes, who announced his departure in February 2009.

Orchestras often hire young concertmasters as they expect the person to stay for many years. Mr. Cardenes held the position for 22 years, as did the previous concertmaster, Fritz Siegal.

"It goes without saying that a player for this position has to be technically brilliant," Mr. Honeck said about Mr. Bendix-Balgley. "His intonation is very clear, his tone is rich and very expressive, but he never gets carried away.

"He is certainly one of the best of his generation."

Leadership is as crucial a quality for a successful concertmaster as musicianship. "He is the artistic spokesman for the orchestra outside, and inside [the group], he must be the leader and be well-respected," Mr. Honeck said during the search. "He must be a fantastic player and a charismatic personality that people will follow."

Concertmasters not only tune orchestras before performances and play solos within compositions, they do anything from establishing conformity in strings bowing direction to upholding artistic quality in all sections with other principal musicians.

"The concertmaster connects the conductor to the orchestra," said Mr. Bendix-Balgley, who will move to the region. "I really try, with my bow use and body movement I try to bring out the music and what the conductor is looking for."

Mr. Bendix-Balgley was not only a dark horse, but a candidate who wasn't even on the card when the race began. Mr. Honeck's violinist son Matthias brought him to the attention of the orchestra late in the search.

Mr. Bendix-Balgley is less recognized than other finalists, Tomo Keller (assistant concertmaster of the London Symphony Orchestra) and Jose Maria Blumenschein (concertmaster of the WDR Radio Symphony Orchestra Cologne), and has placed in only a few competitions, named Laureate of the 2009 Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels, third prize at the 2008 Long-Thibaud International Competition in Paris and first place at the 14th International Violin Competition in Fermo, Italy.

"He was an unknown to us, but on further research appeared interesting, so he was invited to audition where he exceeded all expectations," Mr. Honeck said.

"It is not that he was hiding, but that his star hadn't risen yet and our paths intersected at the right time," said Robert Moir, the PSO's vice president of artistic planning.

The new concertmaster comes with a vouch from one of the world's most respected violinists and conductors, Christoph Poppen, with whom Mr. Bendix-Balgley studied in Munich: "I think he is the perfect choice. His experience as a quartet player, as a soloist and as a concertmaster is the ideal preparation for the job. His stylistic variety is wide -- he is well trained in historic instrument playing which he perfectly translates to modern instruments. His noble and totally reliable personality and his fast way of learning are the perfect skills for a concertmaster position."

Mr. Bendix-Balgley debuted as a guest concertmaster in November 2010 and was asked to return for two additional concert weekends. "The more he played, the more he convinced us," Mr. Honeck said. So much so that he was the unanimous choice of the audition committee of 11 PSO musicians and the director.

If the PSO's new concertmaster is relatively unknown, it has been his choice. While many prodigies -- he took up the violin at 4 years old and played for famed violinist Yehudi Menuhin at 9 -- get out into the spotlight early, he took the time to grow as a musician. Mr. Bendix-Balgley's father is a dancer specializing in Yiddish and folk dance and the family moved around to follow his career. It was from this environment that he developed a passion for klezmer music, performing with such renowned groups as Brave Old World.

When he was 10, the family moved to California where he attended the Crowden School in Berkeley. In 1997, the family relocated to Indiana and he studied under Mauricio Fuks, later getting a bachelor of music at Indiana University.

"The first thing that struck me about him was how intelligent the performance was for someone who was 13," Mr. Fuks said.

"His playing is extremely elegant and he is not just extremely cultivated, but extremely deep. He is very strong inside and treats people with great respect."