Biography

“Maestro Tchivzhel is, simply put, a master… his music-making is indisputably commanding and communicative,”

Yo-Yo Ma after performing with Tchivzhel in 2004

Internationally acclaimed conductor, Maestro Edvard Tchivzhel, serves as Music Director and Conductor, Emeritus of the Greenville Symphony Orchestra.

He has optioned his story, “The Last Defector”, for film development with Studio Fifteen. A short documentary version of the film had its premiere at the Reedy Reels Film Festival in March 2024. His book is also seeking publication.

Tchivzhel continues to maintain an active guest conducting calendar throughout the USA and internationally.

Impact as Music Director

Maestro Edvard Tchivzhel assumed the role of Music Director and Conductor, Emeritus of the Greenville Symphony Orchestra in 2023. He has received wide acclaim during his 24 years leading the Greenville Symphony, greatly improving artistic quality, achieving national recognition with regular performances repeated on America Public Media’s Performance Today, and establishing the orchestra as America’s top regional ensemble. During his leadership, he attracted some of the world’s most renowned artists, such as Yo-Yo Ma (who performed on three separate occasions under Tchivzhel’s baton). After an enthusiastic meeting and first performance in 2004, Yo-Yo Ma sent a rare public letter of gratitude and endorsement. Tchivzhel established relationships with many rising artists, inviting Gold medalists from the Cliburn Piano Competition and Sydney International Piano Competition.

His May 2023 performance of Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony (already reaching over 30K views) with the GSO received a standing ovation, multiple curtain calls, and a rare “tusch” by the musicians of the GSO to honor his enduring legacy. 

He served as Music Director of the Fort Wayne (Indiana) Philharmonic from 1993 until 2008, receiving recognition for raising the quality of the orchestra, growing the budget, expanding variety of programming, and increasing reach of concert performances. He led the Atlantic Sinfonietta (well known for pioneering new American composers) as Music Director from 1992-1994, producing a highly acclaimed recording of Norman Dello Joio’s compositions for the Martha Graham Ballet Company. 

Internationally, Tchivzhel was invited as Permanent Guest Conductor of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra in Brisbane, Australia in 2010 after receiving the highest ratings of any conductor in post-concert musician surveys (a position he held until 2017). From 1991 until 1999 he was Principal Guest Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, New Zealand, leaving a library of local recordings of standard classical repertoire as well as debuts from New Zealand’s emerging composers. 

Prior to his defection to the United States, Tchivzhel had already established a strong international presence despite restrictive conditions for Soviet artists. In 1986, he was appointed Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Umeå Sinfonietta and the Norlands Opera, Sweden, and frequently performed with the symphony orchestras of Helsingborg, Malmö and Norrköping.

In 1973, Tchivzhel became Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Karelian Symphony Orchestra of National Television and Radio, a position he held until his defection in 1991. He also  held the post of Associate Conductor of the Leningrad Philharmonic from 1974-77.

Tchivzhel continues the tradition of his mentor: the legendary conductor of the Leningrad Philharmonic, Yevgeny Mravinsky. He maintains a commitment to education, passing on his remarkable training and experience. Tchivzhel led master classes in conducting as Distinguished Visiting Professor at Furman University from 2008 until the pandemic interrupted in-person study in 2020. He continued to engage young audiences and aspiring conductors leading annual children’s concerts with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic and Greenville Symphony Orchestra throughout his long tenures with each orchestra.

The Early Years in the USSR

Son of a Violinist of the Mariinsky Theater of Opera and Ballet and concert organist, Tchivzhel was born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg, Russia). He graduated from the Leningrad Conservatoire with the highest distinction in the areas of piano and conducting, and completed three more years of postgraduate study at the Conservatoire’s Higher Academy of Music in the prestigious conducting classes of Arvid Jansons. While still a student, Tchivzhel scored a remarkable success by winning the Third Soviet Conductor’s Competition in Moscow. He worked as Assistant Conductor to the legendary conductor Yevgeni Mravinsky with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra from 1974 until 1977. By the late 1970s, Tchivzhel appeared as permanent guest conductor with the Leningrad Philharmonic and conducted the Moscow Philharmonic, the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra, Leningrad’s Kirov Theatre of Opera and Ballet, as well as many other orchestras throughout the former USSR. 

In the 1980s, Tchivzhel’s career achieved international status with appearances in England, Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Scandinavia, Australia and New Zealand. 

Defection from the USSR

As associate conductor of the USSR State Symphony Orchestra, 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. with the help of friends in Greenville, the city he considers his “American cradle.” After defecting, his son Arvid, and his wife Luba became U.S. citizens in 1999. As an American citizen, it is now a tradition for the Maestro to lead the Greenville Symphony Orchestra in the playing of The Star Spangled Banner at the beginning of each concert. To commemorate the anniversary of the late Yevgeni Mravinsky, Tchivzhel returned to Russia in April 2003 (for the first and last time since his defection) to once again conduct the St. Petersburg Philharmonic in a sold-out performance of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony.

Extensive Global Guest Conducting 

Tchivzhel has conducted many American orchestras, making acclaimed debuts with the Baltimore Symphony, the Indianapolis Symphony in 1995 and the Grand Rapids Symphony in 1998. Maestro’s debut with the Dayton Opera in 2008 in the production of Verdi’s Macbeth was hailed by critics as “the triumph of the Dayton Opera.” In 2016, Tchivzhel achieved high acclaim in his debut with the Silicon Valley Symphony, California, and the Augusta Symphony, Georgia.

In 1998, he debuted with the Stockholm Philharmonic. In 2002, Tchivzhel conducted in Venezuela, and in 2005, he performed Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 7 with the Orquestra Sinfonica del Estado in Mexico in commemoration of the victory in World War II. After a spectacular premiere of Scriabin’s “Divine Poem” with the Orquestra Sinfónica Brasileira in Rio de Janeiro in 2004, Maestro was invited to conduct in 2007 and 2013 with the Petrobras Symphony Orchestra of Brazil. In 2006, Maestro Tchivzhel conducted a Russian-Hungarian program in Spain with the Extremadura Symphony Orchestra to high acclaim. He was invited to perform again in Spain and Romania in 2008. In May of 2009, Maestro Tchivzhel made a triumphal debut with the L’Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma, Italy. In April and May of 2010, he scored another great success conducting the Macau Symphony Orchestra in China and the Queensland Symphony in Australia where the Maestro became a permanent conductor. In summer of 2016, Maestro made his highly successful debut with the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, China.

Tchivzhel joined the Sydney International Piano Competition as Conductor of the final round and Member of the Jury in 1992, 1996, and 2000, performing in the renowned Sydney Opera House in Australia. In 2011, he served as Conductor of the final round at the Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition, a unique competition for young artists from the ANZ region.

Performances with World-Acclaimed Artists

Tchivzhel has performed with many great artists including Yo-Yo Ma, Gidon Kremer, Vladimir Spivakov, Nadja Salerno Sonnenberg, Emmanuel Ax, Andre Watts, Janos Starker, Olga Kern, Nicolai Demidenko, Gil Shaham, Joshua Bell, Bella Davidovich, Yuri Bashmet, Evelyn Glennie, Sharon Isbin, Doc Severinsen, and Pete Fountain. He has made numerous recordings with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the Moscow Philharmonic, the Moscow Radio Orchestra, the State Russian Orchestra, the Atlantic Sinfonietta, with several orchestras in Sweden, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, The Asheville Symphony Orchestra, and the Greenville Symphony Orchestra.

Recognition and Media

Maestro has been awarded the ranks of “Honored Artist of the Republic of Karelia” and “Honored Artist of the Russian Federation”. In the United states, Maestro Tchivzhel was awarded The Congressional Johnny Appleseed Award in 2004 by Senator Mark Sauder (Indiana) and The Order of the Palmetto by Governor Nikki Haley, the highest award in the State of South Carolina, in 2016. 

His life story has been optioned for film development by Studio Fifteen and his book is seeking publication. Tchivzhel has been interviewed on national television, national newspapers and featured in countless articles in local media. His YouTube channel has accumulated hundreds of thousands of views, including his highly popular performance of Weber’s Invitation to the Dance with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic generating nearly 200K views. 

Tchivzhel also has a growing presence on social media, reaching thousands of people across Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.