Dr. Oleg Pokhanovski

“I love the very process of students getting more involved in perfecting a piece to make it sound better and better, so they can finally perform it to the absolute best of their abilities. Finding a solution to a problem of any kind, seeing students enjoying their playing more, gives me great satisfaction”- Oleg Pokhanovski

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BIO
Dr. Oleg Pokhanovski is an accomplished virtuosic violinist, pianist, arranger and music educator currently holding the position of Professor of Violin at the University of Manitoba’s Desautels Faculty of Music. He has performed over 2000 concerts as a soloist nationally and internationally in symphonic, recital and chamber music performances. Dr. Pokhanovski is frequently invited and has adjudicated both strings and piano at music festivals all across Canada. He has aslo been invited as an adjudicator of the ENKOR international competition for violin, piano and chamber music. Dr. Pokhanovski is a Founder and Artistic Director of the “Oleg and Friends” concert series in Winnipeg. He performs solo and chamber works with university colleague and guest musicians, presenting 4-5 concerts a year.


EDUCATION
State Conservatory in Moscow
Russia St. Louis Conservatory
Juilliard School of Music
Manhattan School of Music
D.Mus. (University of Montreal)

During his academic studies, Dr. Pokhanovski studied with Valery Klimov, winner of the Tchaikovsky International Competition, Taras Gabora, Dorothy DeLay, Pinchas Zukerman,
Ani Kavafian, and Vladimir Landsman, winner of the Montreal International competition.


AWARDS
Dr. Pokhanovski is a top prizewinner of eight prestigious international violin competitions including the Paganini in Genova, Sarasate in Pamplona and CIEM in Geneva among others. He twice received the prestigious Canada Council National Career Development Grant, and multiple Conceil des Arts du Quebec and Manitoba Arts Council Grants.

PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS
Dr. Pokhanovski has performed over 2000 concerts as a soloist nationally and internationally in symphonic, recital and chamber music performances in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Israel and Russia. He has been presented in Carnegie Recital Hall, the Grand Hall in Moscow, the Concertgebouw, Knight Hall in Prague, Place des Arts in Montréal and others. Most recently, he has performed his own challenging transcriptions, including Paganini 24 caprices, Ravel La Valse, Saint-Saens Danse Macabre and many others in Canada and abroad. His concerts have brought rave reviews calling him a “Russian Paganini” and describing his playing as “brilliant”, “phenomenal”, “outstanding”, and “extraordinary”.


ONGOING RESEARCH / CREATIVE WORKS
Dr. Pokhanovski is renowned for creating over 200 virtuosic transcriptions for violin and piano, as well as other instruments, and has produced professional CD recordings of many of these. He continues to transcribe new masterpieces for violin and piano and perform them with international prize-winning pianist Scott Meek. Dr. Pokhanovski is also a member of the recently formed Desautels Trio and often performs as a chamber musician with other members of the Trio, cellist Dr. Minna Rose Chung and pianist Dr. Judy Kehler Siebert in his concert series Oleg and Friends in Winnipeg, also in Canada and abroad.