Michael Israelievitch

Watch Michael in action with SWR Symphony Orchestra!

About Michael

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

Mr. Israelievitch was named Principal Timpanist of the SWR Symphony Orchestra (Stuttgart, Germany) in September 2016, following one season serving in the same role with the San Francisco Symphony and six seasons with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO). In high demand as a guest timpanist, he has appeared on many occasions with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, as well as with orchestras around the world including the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Saint Louis Symphony, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, Bamberger Symphoniker, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra (RSB), Frankfurt Radio Symphony (HR), Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne, Staatsorchester Stuttgart, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Stuttgart and Swedish Chamber Orchestras. He has also performed as Principal Timpanist at the Sun Valley Music Festival in Idaho and as percussionist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Kansas City Symphony.

Mr. Israelievitch can be heard on the San Francisco Symphony’s SFS Media label, including the complete Schumann Symphonies and Grammy Award nominated Berg’s Three Pieces for Orchestra with Michael Tilson Thomas.  He can also be heard and seen regularly on SWR Klassik’s Livestreams and Web Concerts, as well as on its extensive YouTube channel.

As a percussion soloist, Mr. Israelievitch has appeared with several orchestras, most notably giving world premiere performances of new concertos by Kelly-Marie Murphy and Alexander Levkovich with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. While at the SPCO, he was featured 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 Leif Ove Andsnes, Martha Argerich, Measha Brueggergosman, Nelson Freire, and Dawn Upshaw and has performed chamber music concerts at the Verbier Festival, Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival, Chautauqua Festival, Tanglewood Music Festival, and in New York City at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall and Alice Tully Hall. He has premiered works by leading composers including Samuel Adler, Bruce Adolphe, Michael Colgrass, and Libby Larsen.

From 1999-2015, Mr. Israelievitch performed with his father, the late violinist Jacques Israelievitch, as the Israelievitch Duo during which time they commissioned dozens of works and performed extensively in recital and with orchestra. In 2006, they released a commercial recording for Fleur de Son Classics, entitled Hammer and Bow.

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 to which he returns regularly as teacher and coach.

Mr. Israelievitch has served on the percussion faculty of the Verbier Festival Junior Orchestra in Switzerland, the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, and has also taught classes at the Juilliard Summer Percussion Seminar and conducted master classes in both Europe and the United States.