Born in Kiev, Ukraine, Yuriy Leonovich immigrated with his family to the United States, where he began studying cello and composition. He went on to receive his Doctorate of Musical Arts from the Cleveland Institute of Music.
Yuriy, NRO 2007, now holds the Assistant Cello Professor position at Bob Jones University in Greenville, SC. He is very busy teaching 11 cello students, a survey course, and an orchestral excerpts class. He also conducts a nine-piece cello choir and a 30-piece string orchestra. In addition, Dr. Leonovich won a cello section position in the Greenville Symphony.
Recently married and expecting their first child in May, Yuriy and his wife, Kristin (violinist / pianist), often perform together. Upcoming collaborations include: Brahms’s Double Concerto with the BJU symphony; solos from ballets (including Swan Lake) with the orchestra that Yuriy conducts at BJU; and a recital where they will play one of Yuriy’s compositions called “Solomon” as well as works by Zemlinsky, Mozart and Pergolesi.
Yuriy tells us, “I am grateful for the invaluable experience that NRO provided, to collaborate with highly skilled musicians. There is no other summer festival that can compare to NRO in terms of preparing a budding musician for an orchestral career.”
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