Zlata Grekov

Zlata Grekov was born in Russia in 1987 and began studying the violin at the age of four. When she was five years old, she played her first solo concerto with the Sochi Philharmonic Orchestra. Two years later, she won second prize at the Russian National Competition ‘New Names’.

Since moving to the United States, Zlata has continued to win numerous competitions; SYMF, Bach Festival, Music Teachers Association Scholarship, Search for Talent, Young Stars, Claremont Young Musicians Orchestra (CYMO) Concerto Competition, the Redlands Bowl Young Artist’s Competition, and the SAU Concerto Competition. Zlata played with the Disney Young Artists Symphony Orchestra in Chicago at the Ravinia Festival and at the Lincoln Center in New York, and has soloed with the Southern California Young Musicians Symphony (SCYAS) while on tour in Texas.

 She has participated in master classes with Ruggero Ricci, Sergiu Shwartz, Joseph Silverstein, Ivan Chan, Pinchas Zukerman, Robert Chen, and members of the Philadelphia Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, and LA Phil. As concertmaster of the Claremont Young Musicians Orchestra Zlata performed in Disney Concert Hall and played the solo from “Scheherazade” by Rimsky-Korsakov and the “Overture to Candide” by Bernstein.

Recently, Zlata soloed again with the Sochi Philharmonic Orchestra in Russia, and also with the New England Symphonic Ensemble in Iceland, Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Africa, England, Argentina, and Brazil as well as at the Carnegie Hall-NYC. Zlata is a regularly featured artist with the Loma Linda Symphony where she has appeared as Guest Concertmaster and soloist in May, and gave a recital for the University of Redlands Chamber Concert series. She was also selected to travel to New York where she represented her school by performing up-and-coming composer Andrew Norman’s “Gran Turismo” –a work featuring eight virtuosic violinists.

Presently, Zlata is a student at the Colburn Conservatory of Music where she studies with renowned teacher Robert Lipsett, and has been featured twice in the Colburn Chamber Music Series concerts. She has performed at several music festivals including the Luzerne Music Center (NY), Sarasota Youth Orchestra Festival (FL), ENCORE School for Strings (OH), and the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado as well as at the Festival of the Aegean in Greece and the famed Salzburg Music Festival in Austria. After soloing with the New England Symphonic Ensemble in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Turkey, Zlata performed the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto under the baton of Maestro Frank Fetta as the featured Guest Artist at the Redlands Bowl Orchestra’s closing concert of the 2008 Summer Season –“Symphonic Fireworks”.

Zlata participated in the 40th anniversary of the New York String Orchestra Seminar, performing in Carnegie Hall with Jaime Laredo. She will return to New York this in June, to give a recital as the 2nd prize winner of the Alexander & Buono International String Competition.