ArmenPress
June 25 2004
ALEXANDER TREGER TO PERFORM IN YEREVAN
YEREVAN, JUNE 25, ARMENPRESS: Alexander Treger – a noted US
violinist, accomplished conductor and gifted educator, has arrived in
Armenia at the invitation of the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra to
perform a concert here on June 25. He will play the works by
Bernstein, Dvorak, Beethoven. His visit to Yerevan and the concert
are also sponsored by the US embassy in Yerevan, Alexander Treger was
appointed Music Director of the acclaimed American Youth Symphony in
1998. He succeeded Mali Math and is only the second conductor to lead
the ensemble since it was founded in 1964. One of the nation’s top
pre-professional orchestras, the American Youth Symphony provides
hands-on training in orchestral performance.
Prior to being named Music Director of the American Youth
Symphony, Treger guest conducted the orchestra in 1994 and 1996. An
inspiring teacher, who enjoys working with promising young musicians,
he has given numerous master classes around the world and held the
position of Professor of Violin at the UCLA Music Department for two
decades from 1977 to 1997.
A musician with many interests and talents, Treger has served as
Concertmaster of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 1985, although he
continually devotes more of his time to conducting. During the past
two seasons, he guest conducted the Turk Philharmonic in Finland and
will return during the 2002-2003 season to once again guest conduct
the esteemed orchestra. Several years ago, he stepped in at the last
minute to conduct the Los Angeles Philharmonic, successfully
replacing the indisposed Franz Welse-Most.
He has also appeared as a guest conductor with the Santa Barbara
Chamber Orchestra, California’s Music in the Mountains Festival
Orchestra, the New World Symphony and the Santa Monica Symphony. In
addition, he served as the interim conductor of the UCLA Symphony in
1992 and was appointed the Music Director/Conductor of the Crossroads
Chamber Orchestra in 1993, where he has developed a youth orchestra
of the highest caliber.
Treger began his musical training at the age of five in his native
Russia, where he studied violin and piano. By the age of thirteen, he
had won numerous music competitions in his country, and was later
chosen by the renowned violinist David Oistrakh to study at the
prestigious Moscow Conservatory. He describes the six years he spent
at the Conservatory being mentored by Mr. Oistrakh “among the most
influential on my development as a musician.” While a student there,
he also took a great interest in conducting.
After graduating, Treger became a member of the Moscow Radio
Symphony and, subsequently, left Russia to become the
Concertmaster/Soloist of the Israel Chamber Orchestra.
Treger arrived in the United States in 1973 and joined the Los
Angeles Philharmonic in 1974. He was appointed Assistant
Concertmaster in 1978, promoted to Second Concertmaster two years
later, and appointed Concertmaster in 1985, a position he still
holds. Treger has won high praise for his numerous solo performances
with the orchestra at the Music Center and the Hollywood Bowl, which
have included concertos by Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Bartok,
Mendelssohn, Sibelius, Shostakovich, and Prokofieff under the
direction of Zubin Mehta, Carlo Maria Giulini, Simon Rattle, Pierre
Boulez, Vladimir Ashkenazi, Valery Gergiev, Yuri Temirkanov, and
Esa-Pekka Salonen.
He has also appeared as soloist with a number of major U.S.
orchestras including the San Francisco, Denver, Dallas, and Houston
Symphonies. An avid chamber performer, he has collaborated in
concerts with such well-known artists as Radu Lupu, Yefim Bronfman,
Andre Previn, Bernard Greenhouse and Emmanuel Ax.