Israelievitch, Michael

Percussionist from St. Louis, Missouri, whose mother was a harpist and whose father, Jacques Israelievitch, was a violinist and concertmaster of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra and Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

Michael attended Boston University, Juilliard and the Whitfield School. His teachers included Daniel Druckman, Erin Elstner, Michael Faris, Timothy Genis, Rick Holmes, John Kasica, Rohland Kohloff and Kim Shelley.

He premiered “Brandenburg for the New Millennium” by Libby Larsen at the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival in 2002.

On 21^st November 2004, he was a member of the chamber orchestra that accompanied bass Aaron Borst, soprano Marianne Cope, contralto Edith Dowd and tenor Eric Fennell in a performance of John F. Kennedy: Requiem by William Masselli at Carnegie Hall.

He and his father gave the world premiere of Alex Levkovich’s “Concerto for Violin, Percussion and Chamber Orchestra” (“Isle of a Beautiful Illusion”) with the Juilliard Chamber Orchestra the Juilliard School in New York. They premiered the work in Canada with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra on 5^th April 2006.

In 2007, he fellow percussionist Gregory Zuber and pianists Martha Argerich and Nelson Freire interpreted Bela Bartok’s “Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion” at the Verbier Festival in Switzerland.

He and Jacques reunited for the world premiere of “Dallaire” by Kelly-Marie Murphy with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra at Roy Thompson Hall in 2008.

On 23^rd April 2010, he was the guest soloist of the Minnesota Orchestra at Orchestra Hall where they offered up “Concerto No. 2” by Nebojsa Zivkovic.

He performed “Reflections on the Nature of Water for Marimba” by Jacob Druckman with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra on 26^th March 2011.

On 26^th & 28^th April 2012, he was the featured soloist once again when the SPCO offered up “Veni, Veni, Emmanuel” by James MacMillan at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts.

Other groups with whom he has worked include ALEA III, the Alton Symphony Orchestra, the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Chamber Music Society of Mississauga, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra, the Kansas City Symphony, the Koffler Chamber Orchestra, the Missouri All-State Orchestra, the National Festival of the Arts Orchestra, the National Repertory Orchestra, the National Youth Orchestra, the St. Louis Youth Orchestra, the Sun Valley Summer Symphony, the Webster University Percussion Ensemble and White Rabbit.

In 2016 he became a member of the SWR Symphonieorchester.

Recordings on which he appears include The Adaskin Collection, Vol. 6 by the Adaskin String Trio, French Flute Chamber Music by the Mirage Quintet, and Hammer and Bow and Suite Fantaisie with Jacques Israelievitch.

In the field of music education, he has coached the New World Symphony and Young Artists Wind Ensemble, and served on the faculty of Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute.

Sources:

Israelievitch, Michael

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