Gary Levinson

Gary Levinson joined the Dallas Symphony as the Senior Principal Associate Concertmaster in 2002. Chosen by Zubin Mehta to join the New York Philharmonic in 1987 at age 21, Mr. Levinson made his New York Philharmonic solo debut under the baton of Erich Leinsdorf in 1991, the same year he earned his Master of Music degree at the Juilliard School. He has also toured at Mr. Mehta’s request with the Israel Philharmonic. His teachers included Dorothy DeLay, Masao Kawasaki, Glenn Dicterow and Felix Galimir.

A prolific recording artist, Mr. Levinson is currently involved in three major recording projects. Asked by the Classical Music Recording Foundation to complete their comprehensive catalog of the chamber music works of Beethoven, he has recorded the ten sonatas for piano and violin with renowned pianist Daredjan Kakouberi. Koch Records will release a disc of award winning composer George Tsontakis’ chamber music in which Mr. Levinson collaborates with David Jolley, Melvin Chen and others. Finally, a retrospective of the important women composers from mid-19th century to the present is due out with Albany Records in 2009. Works feature Libby Larsen, Louise Ferrenc, and Victoria Bond among others.

Mr. Levinson’s video “DSO Studio: The Master Class” was released in early 2007. It is an attempt to both elucidate the craft of the professional violinist and address issues both budding violinists and kids simply interested in the language of music can incorporate in their lives. As co-director of the Élan International Music Festival, he leads an intensive program comprised of successful practice techniques to chamber music coachings.

A laureate of the Jaçques Thibaud and Romano Romanini International Violin Competitions, Mr. Levinson toured Italy commemorating the twentieth anniversary of being named the Grand Prize winner of the 1986 Romanini Competition. He was extended the invitation to open the 2009 chamber music season of the Fondazione di Romano Romanini Recital Series with a solo recital at Teatro San Carlo in Brescia, Italy.

Sought after as a chamber musician, Mr. Levinson has collaborated with renowned artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Christopher O’Reilly, Ann-Marie McDermott, Lynn Harrell and Lucas Foss. He has been on the faculty of the Aspen Music Festival since 2002, where he has led the American Academy of Conducting Orchestra at the request of David Zinman. He also makes regular appearances at the Vail Bravo! Music Festival where his chamber music concerts have been featured on NPR’s Performance Today.

As the first violinist of the Elysium String Quartet, he recorded two critically acclaimed CDs as well as touring the Mediterranean as part of the first annual Mykonos International Music Festival in 2000. Mr. Levinson can be heard on the Albany, CALA, New World and Elysium Records labels.-glevinson.com