Michael Israelievitch

Principal, Hulings Chair

Hailed by The New York Times for his “infectious charisma” and by the Toronto Star as a “very stylish and subtle musician”, percussionist Michael Israelievitch is widely recognized for his innate musicality and “electrifying” artistry (The Pioneer Press).

Principal Timpanist of The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra since 2010, Mr. Israelievitch is in high demand as an orchestral player, having appeared as Guest Principal Timpanist on several occasions with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, as well as with the San Francisco Symphony, Saint Louis Symphony, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, Sun Valley Summer Symphony, and on tour in Europe and the United States with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra. He has also performed as percussionist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, and Kansas City Symphony.

As a percussion soloist, Mr. Israelievitch has appeared with several orchestras, most notably giving the world premieres of new concertos by Kelly-Marie Murphy and Alexander Levkovich with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. During the 2011-12 Season, he gave his Minnesota concerto debut with the SPCO and conductor Roberto Abbado, performing James MacMillan’s Veni, Veni, Emmanuel to critical acclaim. The Pioneer Press called it “the most theatrical concerto performance St. Paul’s Ordway Center may have ever hosted…[Israelievitch] successfully commandeering a 40-foot-long arsenal of percussion instruments with authority and admirable musicality.”

Mr. Israelievitch has collaborated with artists including Martha Argerich, Measha Brueggergosman, Nelson Freire, Peter Oundjian, and his father Jacques Israelievitch, and has performed chamber concerts at the Verbier, Ottawa, Chautauqua, and Tanglewood music festivals, and in New York City at Alice Tully Hall and Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall with pianist Leif Ove Andsnes. He has premiered dozens of works by leading composers including Samuel Adler, Bruce Adolphe, Michael Colgrass, and Libby Larsen.

A former student of Daniel Druckman and Roland Kohloff at the Juilliard School, Mr. Israelievitch completed his Master's Degree in 2007 at Boston University under the tutelage of Timothy Genis. Following these studies, he spent two and a half seasons as Timpani Fellow at the New World Symphony in Miami Beach—an organization for which he has since returned as teacher and coach. Mr. Israelievitch presently serves on the percussion faculty of the Boston University Tanglewood Institute and has also taught classes at the Juilliard Summer Percussion Seminar. In addition to being a Zildjian Orchestral Artist, he endorses Evans Drumheads.