PENINSULA MUSIC FESTIVAL NAMES CONCERTMASTER
At the final concert of the Peninsula Music Festival’s August 2011 season, Music Director and Conductor Victor Yampolsky announced the new concertmaster of the Festival Orchestra. Igor Yuzefovich will take over the duties effective with the 60th Anniversary Season in August of 2012.
The Festival held auditions for the chair over a two-year period of time seeing five different candidates. Each violinist led the orchestra for one week of the August season and was also a featured soloist. Maestro Yampolsky invited concertmaster candidates from all over the country. The final decision was made with input from the first violin section and the principal string players of the other sections of the orchestra (second violin, viola, cello and bass). Mr. Yuzefovich was the overwhelming favorite.
Born in Moscow, Russia, Igor Yuzefovich was recently appointed Concertmaster of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, having previously served as the Assistant Concertmaster of the Baltimore Symphony and Concertmaster of the Lancaster Symphony Orchestras. Mr. Yuzefovich began his violin studies at the age of 5, and was soon accepted into the Gnessin Music School where he studied with Irina Svetlova. Since 1991, Mr. Yuzefovich has resided in the United States, and continued his studies with Jody Gatwood, Leri Slutsky and Victor Danchenko, earning degrees from the Peabody Conservatory of Music.
A winner of numerous competitions, Mr. Yuzefovich has performed in countries across the globe. His concerts have taken him from Carnegie Hall in New York to the Cairo Opera House in Egypt to the concert halls of the Far East and the Southern Hemisphere.
As an active chamber musician, Igor co-founded the Monument Piano Trio in 2004, which debuted to critical acclaim in Baltimore, Maryland and has since captivated audiences across the United States. In November of 2011, the Trio released their debut recording, featuring trios by Brahms, Shostakovich and Schoenfield.
In addition to a busy schedule with the Hong Kong Philharmonic and the Trio, Mr. Yuzefovich leads numerous master classes and is in high demand as guest concertmaster. Now he adds the very busy Peninsula Music Festival August season to his schedule.
The 60th Season of the Peninsula Music Festival will run Tuesday, August 7 through Saturday, August 25, 2012 with nine different concerts in three weeks. All concerts are held at the Door Community Auditorium in Fish Creek, Wisconsin. Nine concert subscription packages are on sale now, single tickets will go on sale Monday, February 6. Details of each concert can be found on the Festival website at www.musicfestival.com or call the Festival office to request a brochure: 920-854-4060.