Israel Getzov
Professor of Music - Director of Orchestras
WFPA 150
(501) 450-5761
American conductor Israel Getzov begins his twenty-first season as Music Director of the Conway Symphony Orchestra where he’s conducted over one hundred performances. He also serves as Music Director of the Little Rock Winds and serves as Artistic Advisor to the Orquesta Filarmónica de Santa Cruz in Bolivia. Previous positions include Principal Conductor of the Tianjin Philharmonic – the resident orchestra of the Tianjin Grand Theater in China, and Associate Conductor of the Arkansas Symphony.
Recent engagements include Evergreen Symphony Orchestra at Taipei’s National Concert Hall and their 2024 tour to Bangkok, and the inaugural concert of La Orchestra in Ho Chi Minh City. Additional guest conducting include Shanghai Philharmonic, Tianjin Symphony Orchestra, Zhejiang Symphony Orchestra, Abilene Philharmonic, Asheville Symphony, Cleveland Pops, Monroe Symphony, Mid-Texas Symphony, Bolivia Classica, and the Encuentros de Jovenes New Music Festival in La Paz.
As an opera conductor, he led the world premiere of The Scarlett Letter by American composer Lori Laitman, conducted works of Giancarlo Menotti at the Shanghai Oriental Arts Center and the Cleveland Institute of Music and worked as staff conductor for Tianjin Grand Opera on productions including Bluebeard’s Castle, Rigoletto & La Traviata.
Mr. Getzov was selected by Leonard Slatkin to conduct the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and was chosen by David Zinman for the American Academy of Conducting at the Aspen Music Festival.
Mr. Getzov started the violin at age 3, and later studied viola, piano and percussion. As a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, he performed with many renowned conductors including Barenboim, Boulez, Solti, Jansons, Mehta and Rostropovich. As a chamber musician, he was a founding member of the Rockefeller String Quartet with whom he gave over 200 concerts throughout the state of Arkansas. A passionate advocate for young musicians, Mr. Getzov holds a tenured professorship at the University of Central Arkansas and regularly leads clinics at conservatories and music schools in the U.S., Asia, and South America.