Illarion Gershkovich

San Domenico Virtuoso Program Alumnus, Illarion Gershkovich has been playing the cello since the age of eight, studying with Sergei Riabtchenko. After winning 2nd place at the American Protege Music Competition (2018), he performed at the Carnegie Hall Weill Recital Hall and has subsequently appeared as a soloist with the Golden Gate Symphony Orchestra, and the San Domenico Virtuoso Program Orchestra da Camera.

Currently Illarion continues his studies with Professor Dmitry Kouzov at the Oberlin Conservatory, where he is double-majoring in Cello and Chemistry. Additionally, he has received tutelage from Moscow Conservatory Professor Igor Gavrysh. Illarion continues to be mentored by Sergei Riabtchenko.

Apart from the cello, Illarion has a strong passion for composing and arranging. In 2019, his Double Cello Concerto was notably premiered twice in Washington D.C. with cellist and composer Dr. Tanya Anisimova. And, In 2023, his arrangements of Dmitri Shostakovich’s 5th symphony and Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Paganini Variations were premiered by the Chee-Yun and Friends Festival Orchestra.