Yuriy Bekker Trio

Yuriy Bekker arrived in Charleston in 2007 and quickly fell in love with it. Since then, Yuriy has made quite a name for himself. In addition to being the Principal of the CSO strings, he is an adjunct faculty member at the College of Charleston, has taught at the Charleston Academy of Music, was interim Music Director of the CSO after David Stahl's passing, and he is the current CSO Artistic Director, Concertmaster since 2007, and Principal Pops Conductor since 2016. He has been Music Director of the Piccolo Spoleto Festival’s Spotlight Chamber Music Series and is co-founder of the Charleston Chamber Music Intensive. He has also been a recipient of the Outstanding Artistic Achievement award from the city of Charleston to honor his cultural contributions to the community. It would be an understatement to say it has been a productive and fruitful season for this very happy Charlestonian.

Originally from Minsk, Belarus, Yuriy grew up during the final chapter of the Soviet Union. His family immigrated to Brooklyn, NY when he was 10 years old. There he first demonstrated his proficiency in music. As a teenager, he started a successful orchestra in his high school, completed an internship with the New York City Opera, and organized an orchestra to play an outdoor concert in Battery Park for the filming of an HBO special. It was during this time that he developed a passion for conducting in addition to his love for the violin. He went on to earn his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the Indiana University School of Music and then earned a Graduate Performance Diploma from the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, MD.

About his approach to performing in an interview with Greg Cwik of the Post & Courier (May 26, 2013) Yuriy said, “I want to make the composers happy," but at the same time he "strives always to revitalize and reanimate classical music. The most fun aspect of my job is performing. I enjoy communicating with ... other musicians and making music in an intimate way even on the big stage. It is so much fun when we do something spontaneous and unrehearsed during the performance. This is what chamber music is all about."

Playing the 1638 Franz Degen Andrea Guarneri violin generously on loan to him from an anonymous patron, Yuriy has performed worldwide as a celebrated guest concertmaster, avid chamber musician, and critically-acclaimed soloist. The list is long and spans the globe for his solo and group performances, his role as guest violinist and conductor, and his numerous awards.

Yuriy's debut CD released in 2016, Twentieth Century Duos, received worldwide acclaim and a nomination for the International Classical Music Awards. Yuriy is a U.S. citizen, a proud husband to his wife, Jenny, and father to their children, Nathanael and Charlotte.