NCE Musicians
Present and Past
Leonid Sushansky (violin)
Violinist Leonid Sushansky has been acclaimed widely for his, "Gorgeous tone... Compelling musical personality...Passionate intensity," The Washington Post and called "Astonishing" by The New York Times. He made his Carnegie Hall recital debut in 2005 with pianist Edward Newman and has appeared with many orchestras, as a recitalist and chamber musician in esteemed concert halls worldwide and has been featured on numerous radio and television programs. The orchestras he has performed as soloist with include: the Windsor Symphony, Bergen Philharmonic, Washington Pro Musica, New York Philharmonic, Arlington Symphony, Romanian State Philharmonic, Fairfax Symphony, Philharmonia Virtuosi of New York, Queenspark Symphonia UK, Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic, Richmond Philharmonic, Britt Festival Orchestra, Landon Symphonette, Berlin Chamber Orchestra, Anima Musicae Hungarian Chamber Orchestra, Aspen Chamber Orchestra, Columbia Orchestra, Staten Island Symphony, New Hampshire Symphony, Maryland Symphony and Alexandria Symphony among others.
He began musical studies with his mother, Rimma Sushanskaya, a violinist and pupil of the legendary David Oistrakh. Mr. Sushansky enjoyed early recognition when at age 12 he appeared on the Marvin Hamlisch TV Special for Showtime, performing Mendelssohn Violin Concerto. From age 13, Mr. Sushansky was a scholarship student at the Juilliard School, where he remained for 7 years under the tutelage of the renowned pedagogue Dorothy DeLay. He also had the privilege of being coached by the great violinist, Isaac Stern. At age 15, he was invited by Zubin Mehta to make his debut with the New York Philharmonic performing the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. Graduate studies were completed at the University of Maryland with Daniel Heifetz and the Guarneri Quartet. Daniel Heifetz invited him to perform with him on tour in major venues throughout the country for several years. Another important mentor was Catherine Filene Shouse, the founder of Wolf Trap who introduced him to Isaac Stern. After performances of the Khachaturian Violin Concerto with the Maryland Symphony, the Herald-Mail wrote, "Violinist thrills audience...thumbs up for his extraordinary performance."
Mr. Sushansky has a history of being an outstanding educator and violin teacher. Presently he is on the faculty of the Levine School of Music in Washington DC. He has been on the faculty of University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia and the Academy of Fine Arts in Maryland besides maintaining his own private studio. His students are members of the American Youth Philharmonic as well as Maryland Classic Youth Orchestras(Four students have served as concertmaster). Former students have graduated from the Juilliard School and Boston University among many other conservatories and have continued on to careers in music.
He is the Artistic Director of the National Chamber Ensemble. Recent appearances include the Kennedy Center, a recital debut at Bargemusic in NYC and debuts on tour with Musica Animae Orchestra of Budapest at the Berlin Philharmonie and Leipzig Gewandhaus. He also performed recitals in Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC as well as soloist with the Philharmonisches Kammerorchester Berlin and the National Chamber Ensemble. He has performed five times in recital as guest artist at the Phillips Collection. This past season he returned to University of Maryland for a concert with violinist James Stern and pianist Alexei Ulitin on the Faculty/Artist Series, played the Washington DC premiere of composer Lowell Lieberman's Horn Trio and Violin Sonata with the composer at the piano He performed the Bach Double Concerto with renowned violinist Dylana Jenson and the National Chamber Ensemble and appeared in a series of unique recitals with harpist Michelle Lundy.
The many prizes and honors received include the Outstanding Young Emigre Musician Award, winning the Leningrad Young Musician's Competition, the Westchester Conservatory Competition, the University of Maryland Concerto Competition, Three University of Maryland Graduate Assistantships, the New York Philharmonic National Young Artists Competition, the Bergen Philharmonic Competition and the Inter-Cities Foundation Award.
Upcoming engagements include working with and performing with the students of the Washington Liberty High School Orchestra in Arlington,VA, Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the National Chamber Ensemble, debuts in Ecuador with the Municipal Philharmonic Orchestra, a debut with the Manassas Symphony at the Hylton Center for the Arts and a performance of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. with the National Chamber Ensemble. Recitals in the coming season include performances on several concert series with renowned pianist Thomas Pandolfi in a program titled "Juilliard Virtuosi Perform Bach, Liebermann and Brahms".
Currently he resides in Arlington, Virginia, and in addition to the violin enjoys theater, reading and rollerblading.