Pavel Ilyashov

Recognized by the St. Louis Post Dispatch as a “virtuoso from head to toe” and the Miami Herald as a “performer of dazzling virtuosity and rhapsodic expression”, violinist Pavel Ilyashov is acclaimed as soloist, chamber musician, orchestral player, and passionate educator.

Born into a family of musicians in Minsk, Belarus, at the age of 9, Pavel was awarded the first overall prize in the “Citta Di Stresa” international competition in Italy, where he bested competitors as old as 28. Faced with increasing limitations due to the prevalence of anti-Semitism in their native country, Pavel’s family made the decision to seek greater political and artistic freedom elsewhere. With the sponsorship of United Jewish Federations, Jewish Family Services, and HIAS, the Ilyashov family relocated to the United States in 1990.

A graduate of the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, Pavel enjoys an unusually varied career. Recent solo performance engagements include concertos with the Virginia Symphony, Tacoma Symphony, the National Philharmonic of Honduras, as well as chamber collaborations with Yo Yo Ma, Jaime Laredo, Paquito D’rivera, and members of the Emerson string quartet. Pavel has regularly been featured at the Caramoor festival, Bargemusic, and on the popular radio program Performance Today. Several solo recordings for the Albany and Naxos labels have been released to critical praise.

An experienced orchestral musician, Pavel played a distinguished 16 year, full time tenure with the Virginia Symphony, during which he also appeared as a substitute violinist with ensembles including the Chicago Symphony and Philadelphia Orchestra.

A dedicated teacher, Pavel was honored by the Youth Orchestras of Virginia with a special award as outstanding music educator of the year in 2019. His private students have earned top honors at a multitude of solo competitions. In addition, they have gone on to careers in major professional orchestras, and been accepted to study at top music schools including the Peabody Conservatory, Indiana University, and Julliard. Pavel has given masterclasses throughout the Americas and spends his summers performing and teaching at festivals in New York, Colorado, Virginia, Missouri, and Lima Peru. Pavel is a global ambassador for the Orchestra of the Americas, which has enabled him to bring educational outreach to places in the world where it is not otherwise readily available.