photo: Valerie Schooling Brantley

Yuriy Bekker, critically-acclaimed violinist and conductor, has been a mainstay of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra (CSO) in Charleston SC for 15 years. He has recently been named the CSO’s artistic director and also continues to lead as concertmaster (2007) and principal pops conductor (2016). Bekker previously served as the orchestra’s Acting Artistic Director from 2010–2014, playing a major role in the orchestra’s successful resurgence. 

Bekker is an adjunct faculty member of the College of Charleston School of the Arts as a violin professor and as conductor of the College of Charleston Orchestra. He has been music director of the Piccolo Spoleto Festival’s Spotlight Chamber Music Series and is co-founder of the Charleston Chamber Music Institute. During the summer, he also serves on faculty of the Gingold Chamber Music Festival in Miami FL. 

In 2011, Bekker was given the Outstanding Artistic Achievement award from the city of Charleston to honor his cultural contributions to the community. 

Bekker has performed worldwide as a celebrated guest concertmaster, avid chamber musician, and critically-acclaimed soloist. Bekker has held the position of concertmaster for the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra and the AIMS Festival in Graz, Austria. He has also held positions with the Houston Symphony and the Houston Grand Opera and Ballet Orchestras.

In addition to performing over a dozen concertos with the CSO, Bekker has performed as guest concertmaster with the Vancouver Symphony, Ulster Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic, Kansas City Symphony, and Chicago Chamber Music Society. He has also performed in many notable festivals and venues including European Music Festival in Stuttgart, Germany, Pacific Music Festival in Japan, Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston SC, Aspen Music Festival, the Kennedy Center, and in other cities spanning the United States and around the world. 

He has collaborated with Herbert Greenberg, Claudio Bohorquez, Alexander Kerr, Andres Cardenes, Andrew Armstrong, Robert DeMaine, Sara Chang, Gil Shaham, Ilya Kaler, Joshua Roman, JoAnn Falletta, and Andrew Litton. As Principal Pops Conductor of the CSO, Bekker has worked with notable guest artists such as Ben Folds, Tony Desare, Ellis Hall, Ranky Tanky, and Cirque de la Symphonie.

Bekker’s recent and upcoming engagements include conductor and violinist with the Amarillo Symphony, violinist on Tchaikovsky’s, Bruch’s, and Edward Hart’s Concertos with the CSO, conductor of Mahler’s Symphony No. 6 at the Miami Music Festival, a chamber music appearance with the Fort Worth Chamber Music Society, and a busy CSO Pops season packed with exciting repertoire and guest artists.

Bekker earned a graduate performance diploma from the Peabody Conservatory under the tutelage of Herbert Greenberg. He also holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Indiana University School of Music, where he studied violin with Nelli Shkolnikova and Ilya Kaler. Bekker has studied conducting with Christopher Wilkins, David Zinman, Imre Pallo, and David Effron. His debut album, Twentieth Century Duos, received worldwide acclaim and a nomination for the International Classical Music Awards. 

Born in Minsk, Belarus, Bekker is now a U.S. citizen, proud husband to his wife, Jenny, and father to their children, Nathanael and Charlotte. 

Bekker performs on the 1638 Franz Degen Andrea Guarneri violin, generously on loan to him from an anonymous patron.

Albums

Denmark Vesey

Release Date: November 8, 2024
Catalog Number: NV6676
21st Century
Chamber
String Quartet
Composer Thomas Cabaniss and the Charleston Symphony String Quartet bring a new and exquisite recording of Cabaniss's third, fourth, and sixth string quartets to Navona Records. A complementary record to the previously released FOUR ELEMENTS, DENMARK VESEY completes Cabaniss's six-quartet series. Bearing endless musical complexities masked in an air of exquisite melodic simplicity, the Charleston Symphony String Quartet effectively captures the evolving story between each movement and each quartet. Just as easily as they lean into the melancholy lines of the sixth, whose narrative tells the viscerally emotional story of Denmark Vesey, a slave revolt leader, they capture the harsh futuristic elements of the fourth and the flowing dance movements of the third. No doubt, DENMARK VESEY again proves Cabaniss to be a composer of wide variety, a collaboration that cements his legacy in the string ensemble genre.

Four Elements

Release Date: January 19, 2024
Catalog Number: NV6580
21st Century
Chamber
String Quartet
FOUR ELEMENTS from Thomas Cabaniss showcases the composer’s creative versatility developed over three decades collaborating across various artistic disciplines. Writing music for dance, theater, film, and the concert stage, Cabaniss incorporates elements from all of these forms in his works for string quartet. Many of the movements started out as portions of dance and theater works, while others were crafted from the start for concert audiences. Performed by the Charleston Symphony String Quartet, FOUR ELEMENTS presents Cabaniss’s String Quartets 1, 2, & 5 — representing the first half of his output in this musical form. Taken together, the works serve as a fitting reflection of his wide-ranging pursuits and passions.

Under an Indigo Sky

Release Date: March 3, 2023
Catalog Number: NV6497
21st Century
Chamber
Orchestral
Orchestra
String Quartet
Edward Hart’s UNDER AN INDIGO SKY features A Charleston Concerto and Under an Indigo Sky, two concertos that celebrate and reflect the history and culture of the Southeastern United States. A native of Charleston SC, Hart finds inspiration in the natural beauty and multicultural heritage of his homeland. A Charleston Concerto was written to commemorate the 350th Anniversary of the City of Charleston; it features a collaboration with the Charleston Symphony and the world-renowned Harlem Quartet. It takes an unflinching yet ultimately hopeful view of the city’s complex history over those three and a half centuries. Under an Indigo Sky for violin and orchestra is a musical love letter written to Hart’s geographical home. It explores both the physical splendor of the mountains and coast, but also the feel and “soul” of these breathtaking places.

Twentieth Century Duos

Release Date: June 10, 2016
Catalog Number: NV6046
20th Century
Chamber
Piano
Violin
Yuriy Bekker, violinist on Navona Records release TWENTIETH CENTURY DUOS, is joined by renowned pianist Andrew Armstrong in some of the most beautiful and rarely-performed works of the twentieth century by Jewish composers Erich Korngold and Aaron Copland. Bekker says of the album, “The idea for this project finally came to fruition with the help of the rare 1686 Ex-Nachez Stradivarius violin.  This is the first sound recording of this violin and I believe these particular selections by Korngold and Copland highlight its most magical qualities.”