Igor Kalnin

Biography

Violinist Igor Kalnin has performed internationally as a soloist, chamber musician, and an orchestra leader. A native of Russia, he started his professional career as a faculty member at Glinka State Conservatory in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, and later joined Chamber Orchestra Kremlin in Moscow. After relocating to the United States in 2004, he served as Violin Instructor at Yale University and Assistant Professor of Violin at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, as well as a leader for several orchestras on the East Coast and in the Midwest. Presently, he is Artist-Teacher of Violin/Assistant Professor of Music at Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois. During the summer seasons, he teaches at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Michigan, where he also serves as the Concertmaster of Blue Lake Festival Orchestra.

As a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician, he performed in various venues around the world, including Musikverein in Vienna and Carnegie Hall in New York. The News-Gazette praised his playing for the “full rich tone, ... exquisite taste, and admirable skill.” The Uzbekistan News (www.nuz.uz) described his performance as “fresh, natural, and impeccably virtuosic.” His solo collaborations included Chamber Orchestra Kremlin, Kostroma Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra of Uzbekistan, Champaign-Urbana Symphony, Sinfonia da Camera, Jackson Symphony (MI), Salisbury Symphony (MD), Chamber Orchestra Turkistan, Blue Lake Festival Orchestra and Rose Chamber Orchestra, among others. An avid proponent of modern music, he commissioned and premiered works by composers from various cultures and backgrounds, including prominent African American composers Jeffrey Mumford and James Lee III, celebrated Uzbek woman composer Dilorom Saidaminova, prolific Spanish composer Salvador Brotons, and rising award-winning Russian composer Anton Prischepa, among others. Together with pianist Rochelle Sennet, he founded Duo MemDi, a forefront chamber group, which focuses on performing repertoire by memory and increasing diversity in the world of classical music. An experienced orchestral musician, he has served as Concertmaster of Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia da Camera, and The Prairie Ensemble in Illinois, as well as Principal Second Violinist of Lansing Symphony in Michigan and Waterbury Symphony Orchestras in Connecticut.

Throughout his career, Dr. Kalnin has been passionate about teaching students of all ages. His college and pre-college students have won regional, state, and international competitions, and were accepted to prestigious music programs. As a clinician, he has given masterclasses at universities and conservatories throughout the United States and internationally. He is a co-founder of the educational project “The Art of Orchestral Playing” at Glinka State Conservatory in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. He also serves on the board of directors of the Pacific ChamberFest in Folsom, California and on the advisory board at the Community Center for the Arts in Urbana, Illinois. D. Kalnin is a voting member of The Recording Academy, widely known for the GRAMMY Awards.