(South Carolina, USA, 2016)
M
aestro’s awards
aestro’s
awards
U.S. House of representatives
Former’s President Barack Obama recognition
Maestro Edvard Tchivzhel Day
(South Carolina, USA, 2011)
Order of the Palmetto
(South Carolina, USA, 2016)
The Flag of United States of America
(USA, 2016)
Order of the Palmetto
(South Carolina, USA, 2016)
Maestro Hosts Conducting Master Classes: June 2026
International Conducting Lab
1 June-6 June, 2026
SC Governor’s School for the Arts & Humanities
Greenville, South Carolina, U.S.A 29601
CLICK HERE TO APPLY (NO APPLICATION FEE)
SCHEDULE & REPERTOIRE:
10:00am-12:30pm, 2:00pm-4:30pm
Monday, June 1st ——Open rehearsal with Upstate Camerata Chamber Orchestra on TCHAIKOVSKY, STRAVINSKY, BEETHOVEN, & PROKOFIEV(see below)
Tuesday, June 2nd —-TCHAIKOVSKY Serenade for Strings & STRAVINSKY Concerto in D for String Orchestra (mvmt 1 only)
Wednesday, June 3rd—-STRAVINSKY L’Histoire du Soldat [The Soldier’s Tale]
Thursday, June 4th—-BEETHOVEN Symphony no. 7 & PROKOFIEV “Classical” Symphony no. 1
Friday, June 5th—-TCHAIKOVSKY Serenade for Strings, STRAVINSKY Concerto in D, The Soldier’s Tale, BEETHOVEN Symphony no. 7, & PROKOFIEV “Classical” Symphony no. 1
Saturday, June 6th—-Concert Performance!
COURSE FEE: $2100 USD
BENEFITS:
over 100 minutes of total podium time!
AND
- Conducting Professional Musicians
- Video Review Masterclass Sessions
- Player feedback
- Group Roundtable Discussions
- Lifetime Membership to the ICL network with access to exclusive content and career assistance
- One-on-one time with Maestro Edvard (ask him anything!)
- Performance at the Final Concert
- GET BETTER TAPES
- FINALLY FIX YOUR LEFT HAND
- Amenities and excitement of downtown Greenville (variety of food options, Greenville Drive baseball, etc)
12 selected conductors will be invited to work with professional players for a week of study with one of the most acclaimed conductors of our time, Maestro Edvard Tchivzhel!
Internationally acclaimed conductor , Maestro Edvard Tchivzhel, currently serves as the Music Director Emeritus of the Greenville Symphony Orchestra.
“ Maestro Tchivzhel is, simply put, a master… there is an authority and authenticity in his music-making that is indisputably commanding and communicative”- wrote Yo-Yo Ma after performing several times with Tchivzhel.
Edvard Tchivzhel was born and grew up in St. Petersburg, Russia. He graduated from the famous St. Petersburg Conservatory with the highest distinction in Conducting; his teachers were famous conductors Arvid Jansons , and the legendary Music Director of the St. Petersburg (Leningrad) Philharmonic Orchestra , Evgeny Mravinsky, who appointed Tchivzhel as his Assistant for three years. Maestro Tchivzhel appeared as a permanent Guest Conductor with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Moscow Philharmonic, Moscow Big Radio Symphony Orchestra, the USSR State Symphony; conducted performances in Mariinsky Theater of Opera and Ballet and many orchestras throughout the former USSR. In 1980s Tchivzhel’s career achieved international status with appearances in Germany, England, the Czech Republic , Poland , Romania, Norway, Finland and Australia.
For 18 years Tchivzhel kept position of the Music Director of the Karelian Symphony Orchestra of National Television and Radio. He also was appointed for 10 years the Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Umea Sinfonietta and the Norlands Opera, Sweden, and performed with the symphony orchestras of Helsinborg, Malmo, Norrkoping and Stockholm.
As associate conductor of the U.S.S.R. State Symphony Orchestra, Maestro Tchivzhel toured widely, scoring great success during a tour in Japan in 1990. In February 1991, Tchivzhel was enthusiastically received during a tour of the State Russian Symphony Orchestra in the United States. Following this tour, he defected to the U.S. and was granted American citizenship. In America, Tchivzhel took his first position as the Music Director of the Atlantic Sinfonietta, NY. He then served for 15 as the Music Director of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Indiana, and continued his extensive guest conducting appearances in America, Australia, New Zealand (where he served as Artistic Advisor for the Auckland Philharmonic), Spain, Italy, China, Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela, and Romania.
He is well-known for his moving, precise, energetic and passionate interpretations. Tchivzhel’s performances have been reviewed by national and local media, highlighting his “high standard, vivid gestures, and strong emotional overtones” (Washington Post), “passion and extravagance… tempered by precision and clarity” (Limelight Magazine), “crisp, polished playing” (The Greenville News), “radiant, elegantly shaped account” (Classical Voice America), “athletic conducting” (Citizen Times), and “thick weeping textures… shaped with aristocratic elegance” (The Mercury News).
Maestro Tchivzhel was appointed Music Director of the Greenville Symphony Orchestra In 1999. Over 24 Seasons leading the GSO, he has significantly elevated the orchestra’s artistic quality, attracted world-class talent, and introduced innovative programming. Tchivzhel’s enduring legacy has been recognized with The Order of the Palmetto (South Carolina’s highest honor). His artistic impact has been commemorated with proclamations by Mayor Knox White, Senator Lindsey Graham, and President Barack Obama.
To learn more about Maestro Tchivzhel please visit his website at https://edvardtchivzhel.com/
The International Conducting Lab is sponsored by the following organizations:
Gershwin: An American in Paris
Bernstein: Overture to Candide
Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances
Tchivzhel returns to Greenville Symphony podium for Bernstein, Gershwin and Rachmaninoff
Edvard Tchivzhel, the Greenville Symphony’s music director emeritus, returns to the podium to conduct three popular works as a part of the orchestra’s year-long celebration of American concert music.
The program spotlights Leonard Bernstein’s sparkling Overture to “Candide” and George Gershwin’s jazzy “An American in Paris.”
Sergei Rachmaninoff, a Russian composer who became an American, will be represented by his last great work, the “Symphonic Dances.”
The program will be performed twice, Nov. 22-23 in the Peace Concert Hall.
The orchestra’s American Season was designed as a part of the national commemoration in 2026 of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
“I’m very excited to celebrate the 250th anniversary of America,” said Tchivzhel, a Soviet defector who became an American citizen in 1999.
In leading the Greenville Symphony for almost a quarter of a century, 1999-2023, Tchivzhel always began performances in the Peace Concert Hall with the National Anthem as a tribute to his adopted country.
Jolly and melancholy
Bernstein’s “Candide” Overture is a spirited orchestral concert-opener.
Gershwin’s “An American in Paris,” meanwhile, is a 1928 musical narrative of an American’s jolly and melancholy visit to the City of Light. Gershwin scored the latter work for the standard symphony orchestra but also adds some unique instruments — including tuned taxi horns and three saxophones.
Rachmaninoff’s “Symphonic Dances,” which premiered in 1941, displays the beloved composer’s characteristic tuneful and heartfelt melodies, Tchivzhel said.
“It was his last composition,” Tchivzhel said. “It very much summed up Rachmaninoff’s life, with nostalgia for his native Russia.”
In addition to his occasional guest-conducting engagements, Tchivzhel leads the International Conducting Lab, a week-long summer institute for prospective and early-career classical-music conductors.
Want to go?
What: Greenville Symphony: “An American in Paris,” conducted by Edvard Tchivzhel
When: Nov. 22-23
Where: Peace Concert Hall at Peace Center, 300 S. Main St., Greenville
Tickets: $24.20-$103.40
Info: 864-467-3000 or peacecenter.org
