Gabriel Lefkowitz

A native of the Boston area, violinist/conductor/composer Gabriel Lefkowitz is the Concertmaster of the Louisville Orchestra, Artistic Director & Conductor of the Louisville Civic Orchestra, an active soloist and chamber musician, a frequent masterclass clinician, and an orchestral conductor. A versatile musician of the 21st century, Gabriel is also a composer for video games and other media and was the featured violin soloist for the film Harriet (Focus Features).

During his 5-year tenure with the Louisville Orchestra so far, Gabriel has performed the violin concertos of Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky and has been a frequent guest conductor of the ensemble, leading multiple concert cycles in the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Holiday Pops genres. In October 2019, Gabriel performed on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon with LO music director Teddy Abrams, Jim James, and several LO colleagues to promote the orchestra’s new album The Order of Nature.

In 2017, Gabriel concluded his tenure as Concertmaster of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, a position he had held since 2011 at the age of 23. Highlights of his final KSO season included performances of the Brahms Violin Concerto and three recitals at the Knoxville Museum of Art as part of the highly successful concert series he founded, Gabriel Lefkowitz & Friends.

Outside of Louisville and Knoxville, recent guest engagements include performances of Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto with the Monteux School and Music Festival Orchestra, Florence Price’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with the McConnell Arts Center Chamber Orchestra (the Ohio premiere of this work), Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 4 with the Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra, Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5 with the Oak Ridge Symphony, Philip Glass’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with the Ocala Symphony, and performing as guest concertmaster with the Brevard Music Center, Britt Festival Orchestra, and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.

Gabriel has been conducting professional, community, and youth orchestras since 2010. He made his podium debut with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra during the 2015-2016 season, leading multiple performances throughout East Tennessee. He served as Music Director of the Oak Ridge Community Orchestra during the 2014-2015 season and has worked extensively with youth ensembles including the Central Kentucky Youth Orchestra, Knoxville Symphony Youth Orchestra, the Juilliard Pre-College Orchestra, and the Boston Youth Symphony.

As a composer, Gabriel’s current focus is scoring video games, including the recent release Pop-Up Dungeon. He also created music for the brand-new multi-million dollar theme resort Ancient Lore Village in East Tennessee. His orchestral music has been performed by the Knoxville and Owensboro Symphony Orchestras as well as the Dubuque Festival Orchestra.

Gabriel holds a Bachelor’s degree from Columbia University, where he graduated magna cum laude in three years, having studied music and economics. In May of 2010, he earned a Masters in Violin Performance at The Juilliard School where he studied with Joel Smirnoff and Masao Kawasaki.

(Updated August 2021)