Ilya Kaler, concertmaster

The only violinist ever to win Gold Medals at all three of the world's most prestigious competitions: the Tchaikovsky, the Sibelius and the Paganini, Ilya Kaler is already being compared to the likes of Heifetz and Perlman. Born into a family of musicians in Moscow, Ilya Kaler showed enormous talent from an early age. At the Central Music School of the Moscow Conservatory he studied under Zinaida Gilels and Yury Yankelevich. He continued his studies with Leonid Kogan and Viktor Tretyakov at the Moscow Conservatory, where he earned both master's and doctorate degrees, and graduated with the Gold Medal Award. He also studied privately with Abram Shtern in the Soviet Union and the United States.

Mr. Kaler has earned rave reviews for solo appearances with distinguished orchestras throughout the world. He has performed with the Leningrad, Moscow and Dresden Philharmonic Orchestras, the Montreal Symphony, the Danish and Berlin Radio Orchestras, and the Moscow and Zurich Chamber Orchestras, among others. His solo recitals have taken him throughout Europe, Scandinavia, East Asia, and the former Soviet Union.

In recent years, Mr. Kaler has performed in the United States with the Detroit, Baltimore, and Seattle Symphony Orchestras, and at the Kennedy Center, Washington, D. C. He has also toured Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Singapore, Korea, Taiwan, England, Venezuela and Japan, where he played with the New Japan Philharmonic, the Century Symphony Orchestra and the Hiroshima Symphony. Also an active chamber musician, Mr. Kaler has performed for several summers at the Newport Music Festival. He was Professor of Violin at the Eastman School of Music, and for five years served as Concertmaster of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. From 2001 to 2003, Mr. Kaler served as Distinguished Professor of Music (Linda and Jack Gill Chair in Violin) at Indiana University School of Music in Bloomington. He is currently Professor of Violin at DePaul University School of Music, in Chicago.


Ilya Kaler, concertmaster The only violinist ever to win Gold Medals at all three of the world's most prestigious competitions: the Tchaikovsky, the Sibelius and the Paganini, Ilya Kaler is already being compared to the likes of Heifetz and Perlman. Born into a family of musicians in Moscow, Ilya Kaler showed enormous talent from an early age. At the Central Music School of the Moscow Conservatory he studied under Zinaida Gilels and Yury Yankelevich. He continued his studies with Leonid Kogan and Viktor Tretyakov at the Moscow Conservatory, where he earned both master's and doctorate degrees, and graduated with the Gold Medal Award. He also studied privately with Abram Shtern in the Soviet Union and the United States. Mr. Kaler has earned rave reviews for solo appearances with distinguished orchestras throughout the world. He has performed with the Leningrad, Moscow and Dresden Philharmonic Orchestras, the Montreal Symphony, the Danish and Berlin Radio Orchestras, and the Moscow and Zurich Chamber Orchestras, among others. His solo recitals have taken him throughout Europe, Scandinavia, East Asia, and the former Soviet Union. In recent years, Mr. Kaler has performed in the United States with the Detroit, Baltimore, and Seattle Symphony Orchestras, and at the Kennedy Center, Washington, D. C. He has also toured Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Singapore, Korea, Taiwan, England, Venezuela and Japan, where he played with the New Japan Philharmonic, the Century Symphony Orchestra and the Hiroshima Symphony. Also an active chamber musician, Mr. Kaler has performed for several summers at the Newport Music Festival. He was Professor of Violin at the Eastman School of Music, and for five years served as Concertmaster of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. From 2001 to 2003, Mr. Kaler served as Distinguished Professor of Music (Linda and Jack Gill Chair in Violin) at Indiana University School of Music in Bloomington. He is currently Professor of Violin at DePaul University School of Music, in Chicago.