Ilmar Gavilán

First Violinist Ilmar Gavilán is a native of Cuba, where he began his studies at the Havana Conservatory of Music. At the age of 14, he was selected for advanced studies at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, and he furthered his training at the Reina Sofia School of Music in Spain and the Manhattan School of Music in New York. Mr. Gavilán's mentors have included Glenn Dicterow, Zachar Bron, Maia Glizarova, and Abraham Stern. He has had private lessons with Yehudi Menuhin, Ruggiero Ricci, and Isaac Stern. Mr. Gavilán is currently a Doctor of Music candidate at Rutgers University, where he is mentored by Arnold Steinhardt.

He has performed concertos with the Atlanta, Baltimore, Denver, Detroit, Milwaukee, Phoenix and Saint Louis symphony orchestras, and has made solo appearances in Mexico, Cuba, Venezuela, Spain, Portugal, and Russia. Mr. Gavilán is a prizewinner in the Sphinx Competition, the Lipinsky-Wieniawski International Violin Competition in Poland, and the International Henryk Szeryng Violin Competition. He made his U.S. recording debut with Aires Y Leyendas, released in 2002; his 2008 recording Gavilán Plays Gavilán includes music composed by his father, Guido Gavilán.

Ilmar Gavilán is currently concertmaster of the Philadelphia Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra and performs as a regular substitute musician for the New Jersey Symphony.