Gabriel Lefkowitz

A Native of Newton, MA, 25-year-old Gabriel Lefkowitz is a violinist, composer, and conductor living in Knoxville, TN, where he is in his second year as concertmaster of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra.

During the 2012-2013 season, Gabriel will be performing violin concertos of Korngold and Bach with the KSO, as well as three solo/chamber recital programs as part of KSO's brand new concert series, Gabriel Lefkowitz & Friends.

Gabriel holds a Bachelors degree from Columbia University, where he graduated magna cum laude in three years, having studied music and economics. In May of 2010, he earned a Masters in Violin Performance at The Juilliard School where he studied with Joel Smirnoff and Masao Kawasaki.

In July of 2004, at age 16, Gabriel was asked to give a solo performance at the Democratic National Convention's opening night at the Fleet Center in Boston. His original rendition of "Amazing Grace" was seen live by millions around the world and led to an appearance on the CNN Morning Show, and a special performance for former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney at the State House in Boston.

He has also performed with several popular rock and indie bands in New York, including Vampire Weekend, with whom he performed in February 2010 on Saturday Night Live. Gabriel was a violinist on the 2010 international Star Wars: In Concert! summer tour.

In addition to his activities on the violin, Gabriel is a film composer and conductor. In the summer of 2010, he was one of only five composers invited to study composition at the Aspen Music Festival’s prestigious Film Scoring Program where he composed electronic and orchestral pieces to picture. He has conducted recording sessions of his own orchestral music as well as the film music of his colleagues at Aspen and Juilliard and is currently principal conductor artistic director of his latest New York-based musical endeavor - the Eon Contemporary Orchestra, an ensemble of young professional musicians that records and promotes new music, specifically in the genres of film, rock, pop, indie, and world. During the summers of 2011 and 2012, Gabriel studied conducting at the prestigious Pierre Monteux School in Hancock, ME.