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The Ukraine conductor, Lev Ivanov, earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Performance and Conducting from the Tchaikovsky National Academy of Music in Kyiv, Ukraine (2003), post graduate in Orchestral Conducting at the same institute (2007); his Master of Music degree at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah (2009); and his Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree in Orchestral and Opera Conducting at Arizona State University (ASU) in Tempe, Arizona (2009-2012). He studied under Vitaliy Pschenichny, Roman Kofman, Niku Mitznei, Martyn Brabbins, Kory Katseanes, William Reber and Timothy Russell. Additionally he has taken master-classes with Thomas Cockrell, Keith Lockhart and Carl St. Clair.
While living in Phoenix, Arizona, Lev Ivanov was a sought after clinician among both orchestras and wind bands. Collaborations included Mesa Community College Wind Ensemble, and Park City Summer Orchestra Festival, where he served as a guest conductor for three consecutive seasons (2010-2013). He received a "Special Mention" diploma prize by the jury presided over by Jorma Panula at the Jeunesses Musicales Bucharest International Conducting Competition 2013, one of the five to receive prizes and special recognitions among fifty international contestants. He conducted there the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra. He is the recipient of the George and Geraldine Swensen Watkins Endowment for Excellence in the Arts (2009), and he also won a Special Talent Award both at the Herberger Institute for Design (2009) and the Arts and at Brigham Young University (2007). He is a prize-winner of the Vorzel International Ensemble Competition in Ukraine (2002) and Guitaralia International Ensemble Competition in Poland.
Lev Ivanov was an Assistant Conductor of ASU Lyric Opera Theater and ASU Symphony Orchestra and Director of ASU Sinfonietta. He was also an Assistant Conductor of BYU Philharmonic and Chamber orchestras and Director of University Orchestra and University Strings. He also participated in the Blue Danube International Opera Conducting Competition in Ruse, Bulgaria (2013).
Since August 2014, Lev Ivanov teaches conducting at Illinois Wesleyan University (IWU). He also serves as the Music Director and Conductor of Illinois Wesleyan Symphony Orchestra. He is also the Music Director of the Illinois Wesleyan Civic Orchestra and the Wind Ensemble. His vision of artistic excellence facilitated projects and collaborations with other art forms including use of electronic music, visual aids, and computer technology in an orchestral setting. Highlights of the past and current seasons include: Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5, Copland's Appalachian Spring, Igor Stravinsky's Firebird Suite, Johannes Brahms' Schicksalslied, Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, Schubert's Unfinished Symphony, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's Cappriccio Espagnol, and Gabriel Fauré's Requiem. A passionate music educator, he is a sought-after clinician and adjudicator. He conducts clinics with various student ensembles and adjudicates competitions in the state of Illinois and beyond.
As an advocate for diversity and making music accessible to all, Lev Ivanov continues reaching out to new audiences. H e conducted Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel for over 1,000 elementary children in fall 2014, W.A. Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro for middle school students in fall 2016, and Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf for elementary students in fall 2017. Illinois Wesleyan’s Wind Ensemble won the prestigious American Prize in Band Performance in 2016 led by Ivanov, and he was a finalist of the 2016 American Prize in Conducting. He has been the recipient of both the Illinois Prairie Community Foundation Grant and the Harmon Arts Grant to continue to bring orchestral music and opera to audiences in Central Illinois.
Laev Ivanov has worked with a number of orchestras across Europe and the USA, including Romanian Philharmonic Orchestra, Bulgarian State Opera Ruse Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Hebredis Ensemble, North Chamber Orchestra, BYU Philharmonic, Chamber, Symphony and String orchestras, BYU New Music Ensemble, ASU Symphony and Sinfonietta, ASU New Music Ensemble, St. Magnus Festival Chorus, Park City Music Festival Orchestra and Chamber Ensemble, North Chamber Orchestra and others. |
