Education
B.M. and M.M. Odessa State Conservatory; Performer’s Diploma, Freiburg Musichochschule
Specialty
23 years of private and group teaching
Biography
Violinist Mikhail Kuchuk graduated from the Academy of Music in Odessa, Ukraine and completed his Master of Music and Doctorate of Music degrees in Freiburg, Germany. His teachers have included Alexander Stanko, Wolfgang Marschner, and Felix Gottlieb. Mikhail was a winner of the Ukrainian National Violin Competition in 1990, Carl Flesch Violin Competition (Hungary) in 1993, and the Baden Wurtemberg Violin Competition (Germany) in 1996. Other awards included receiving the David Oistrakh Scholarship in Odessa, Ukraine and the Rosenberg Foundation’s Scholarship in Freiburg, Germany. Mikhail was a concertmaster of Odessa Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra where he toured as a soloist in Germany, Italy, and France. He also held a full-time position at the Odessa Opera House. Since 1999, Mikhail has been a member of the Forte String Quartet, quartet-in-residence at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music. He performs regularly in the tri-state area and throughout the United States. Since 2004, Mikhail has been a member of Tito Castro Tango Quartet and has participated in concerts with Anna Saeki in New York, Hawaii, Korea, and Japan. Mikhail appeared as solo violinist on Broadway in the production of Forever Tango and has appeared as a soloist with the Manhattan Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, the Westchester Chamber Orchestra, St Peter’s by the Sea Symphony Orchestra, and the Bachanalia Chamber Orchestra. Presently he is a concertmaster of the New Jersey Philharmonic Orchestra and St. Peters by the Sea Symphony Orchestra, as well as a member of Adelphi University Orchestra, Edison Symphony, Princeton Symphony and Garden State Philharmonic. As an educator, Mikhail teaches violin at Wharton's Performing Arts School and maintains a large private studio.