![]() | ||
| About ECYS • Faculty • Auditions • Solo Competitions • International Tour • Summer Workshops Support ECYS • Press Room • Contact Us • Home |
||
![]()
![]() |
Music Director and Conductor of Symphony, Sinfonietta and Galbraith Honor Strings
Dr. Camilla Kolchinsky, ECYS Music Director and conductor of the Symphony, Sinfonietta and Galbraith Honor Strings, received a Master of Music Degree with distinction from the State Music Conservatory of Moscow and completed the doctoral level program in conducting at the State Music Conservatory of Leningrad (St. Petersburg). She appeared regularly with the Bolshoi Theater, the National USSR State Orchestra, and the Moscow Philharmonic. Since coming to the West in 1976, she has conducted the Philharmonic Orchestra in London, the Israel Philharmonic, the Swedish Radio Orchestra in Stockholm, the Oslo Philharmonic, the Brussels Radio Symphony Orchestra and many others. Before arriving in the Bay Area she served as Music Director and Principal Conductor of the University Symphony Orchestra and Opera of the University of California, Santa Barbara. Dr. Kolchinsky is the Permanent Guest Conductor of The First Austrian Chamber Orchestra in Vienna and the Guatemala Symphony in Guatemala. “For those students in our preparatory division, my goal is for them to begin to hear what beauty is, and to understand what art can mean. For those students in our senior ensembles, it is my goal to challenge them to reach levels of achievement beyond those which they set for themselves.” – Dr. Camilla Kolchinsky Conductor of Chamber Players and Camerata Orchestras
Michail Gelfandbein, conductor of the Chamber Players and Camerata orchestras, a native of Russia, received his Ph.D. at the Leningrad Conservatory of Music in cello performance as a student of Mstislav Rostropovich, with post graduate study in conducting with I. Musin. He served as Principal Cellist of the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra for 25 years, during which time he was also a faculty member of the Leningrad Conservatory and the Leningrad State Music School for Conductors. Mr. Gelfandbein was founder and Conductor of the Rishon-Le-Zion Chamber Group and Co-Principal Cellist of the Israel Opera Orchestra in Tel Aviv. He has performed as a soloist throughout Europe, the USA, and Asia. Locally Mr. Gelfandbein performed in San Francisco with the Russian Chamber Orchestra and at the prestigious Noontime Concert series at St. Patrick's Church. “Conducting allows me to express so much more musically. You can think of an orchestra as a very big instrument, with a very big ability to express itself...Conducting is like playing this very big instrument. There is the opportunity for rich expression. This is what I try to communicate to my students and to my audiences.” – Michail Gelfandbein Conductor of El Camino Wind Orchestra
Conductor of Flute Ensembles
Assistant Conductor and Director of Winds
Debra Weinberg Gardner , Assistant Conductor, Director of Winds, and woodwind and chamber music coach for ECYS, received Bachelor’s degrees in Clarinet Performance and Recording Arts from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, where she studied under Loren Kitt, Principal Clarinetist of the National Symphony. From there, she went on to Chicago to receive her M.M. in Clarinet Performance from DePaul University, where she studied under Larry Combs, Principal Clarinetist of the Chicago Symphony. She has performed throughout the U.S., playing with such groups as the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the Chicago Contemporary Players, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, the South Bend Symphony, the Berkeley Symphony, and the Monterey Symphony. She has also participated in many music festivals, including the National Repertory Orchestra, Music Academy of the West, the Texas Music Festival, and the Sarasota Music Festival. Throughout her travels, she has had the honor of playing under the batons of many great conductors, including Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, Christoph Eschenbach, and Zubin Mehta. As an educator, her varied experiences include working with at-risk youth at the MERIT Music Program in Chicago, performing in outreach concerts through both the Chicago Civic Orchestra’s MusiCorps Program and the San Francisco Symphony’s Adventures in Music program, and teaching chamber music and music theory for the San Francisco Community Music Center’s Comprehensive Musicianship Program. She has maintained a private clarinet studio since beginning her studies, with many of her students winning competitions and being accepted into some of the country’s most prestigious music schools. Brass Section Coaches
Chamber Music Coach/Coordinator
Sara Spieth is an active cellist and music educator in the San Francisco Bay Area. She received her B.M. in Cello Performance from the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University, studying under former Associate Principal of the New York Philharmonic, Alan Stepansky, and her M.M. from San Francisco State University working with the Alexander String Quartet. She is a recipient of the Israel Dorman Memorial Award and the Sylvia Rosenberg Orchestra Scholarship. Solo engagements have taken Sara abroad, as she has performed throughout the U.K., Italy, Austria, and France. She has attended the Pacific Music Festival, the World Cello Congress, the Domaine Forget Festival, and has participated in many master classes including those with Phillippe Muller, the Julliard String Quartet, Irene Sharp, Julian Martin, and Mihaly Virizlay. Teaching has always interested Sara, as she has maintained a private studio since 1994, as well as being highly involved with the El Camino Youth Symphony and other youth organizations. Sara plays on a Francis Kuttner cello on loan to her from a private collection. For more information, visit www.saraspieth.com.
|
Debra Weinberg Gardner
About Conductor Dr. Kolchinsky: “...she does not only possess a remarkable technique as a conductor, but she makes the very best use of her her technique to reveal her interpreting intentions and great musical talent.” – Mstislav Rostropovich |
| El Camino Youth Symphony • 4055 Fabian Way • Palo Alto, California 94303 • ecys@earthlink.net ECYS Office: 650-213-7111 • Fax: 650-493-1525 • © 2007 El Camino Youth Symphony Association |
||