Israel Getzov

American conductor Israel Getzov begins his twenty-second season as Music Director of the Conway Symphony Orchestra, where he has conducted more than one hundred performances. He also serves as the Music Director of the Little Rock Winds and as Artistic Advisor to the Orquesta Filarmónica de Santa Cruz in Bolivia. His previous positions include: Principal Conductor of the Tianjin Philharmonic, resident orchestra of the Tianjin Grand Theater in China, and Associate Conductor of the Arkansas Symphony.

Recent engagements include appearances with the Evergreen Symphony Orchestra at Taipei’s National COncert Hall and on its 2024 tour to Bangkok, as well as the inaugural concert of La Orchestra in Ho Chi Minh City. Additional guest-conducting engagements include the Shanghai Philharmonic, Tianjin Symphony Orchestra, Zhejiang Symphony Orchestra, Abilene Philharmonic, Asheville Symphony, Cleveland Pops, Monroe Symphony, Mid-Texas Symphony, Bolivia Clásica, and the Encuentros de Jóvenes New Music Festival in La Paz.

As an opera conductor, he led the world premiere of The Scarlet Letter by American composer Lori Laitman, conducted works by Giancarlo Menotti at the Shanghai Oriental Arts Center and the Cleveland Institute of Music, and served as staff conductor for Tianjin Grand Opera on productions including Bluebeard’s Castle, Rigoletto, and 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 began studying violin at age three and later studied viola, piano, and percussion. As a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, he performed under many renowned conductors, including Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, Sir Georg Solti, Mariss Jansons, Zubin Mehta, and Mstislav Rostropovich. As a chamber musician, he was a founding member of the Rockefeller String Quartet, with whom he gave more than 200 concerts throughout Arkansas. A passionate advocate for young musicians, Mr. Getzov holds a tenured professorship at the University of Central Artkansas and regularly leads clinics at conservatories and music schools in the United States, Asia, and South America.