ROCHESTER, NY — The Eastman School of Music has just announced the appointment of Mikhail Kopelman as full-time professor of violin, to begin in the 2002-2003 academic year. "Mikhail brings an incredible and diverse performing and teaching background," said a delighted James Undercofler, director and dean of the Eastman School. "His artistic profile is nothing short of sensational."
Since 1976, Kopelman has performed in a dizzying array of venues throughout the world as first violinist with the Tokyo String Quartet (1996-2002), and in that same capacity with the Borodin String Quartet (1976-1996). During those 26 years, Kopelman has maintained a busy teaching schedule with professorships at Yale University (1996-2002) and at the Moscow Conservatory (1980-1993), where he taught violin and coached chamber music. He has given master classes abroad at the Guildhall School of Music (London), the Britten-Pears School of Music (Aldeburgh Festival, UK), the Tours International Festival (France), and in Amsterdam, Vienna, Hamburg, and elsewhere around the world, as well as at numerous festivals and universities in the United States.
"I look forward to coming to the Eastman School, an extraordinary venue for realizing my teaching vision," says Kopelman. "Faithful to traditional musicianship, yet with insight into today’s complex musical world, Eastman offers a tantalizing mix for today’s serious music student."
Prior to his joining the string quartet world, Kopelman was a member of the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra and was concertmaster of the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra. Additionally, he was the second-prize winner in the 1973 Jacques Thibaud International Competition in Paris. Kopelman has collaborated with many of the world’s distinguished instrumentalists, including pianist Sviatoslav Richter with whom he performed from 1978-1994 in recital and on recordings.
Mr. Kopelman will be joining Eastman string faculty members Lynn Blakeslee, Charles Castleman, Oleh Krysa, and Zvi Zeitlin, violin; John Graham and George Taylor, viola; Steven Doane, Rosemary Elliott, and Alan Harris, cello; James VanDemark, double-bass; Kathleen Bride, harp; and Nicholas Goluses, guitar.
For more information on the Eastman School, visit www.rochester.edu/Eastman.
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N.B. Interviews and photos are available.