Philip Setzer, a founding member of the Emerson String Quartet began studying violin at the age of five with his parents, both former violinists in the Cleveland Orchestra. He continued his studies with Josef Gingold and Rafael Druian and later at the Juilliard School with Oscar Shumsky.
Currently serving as the Distinguished Professor of Violin and Chamber Music at SUNY Stony Brook, Setzer was appointed as the Artistic Director of the Manchester Music Festival in Vermont and started his tenure in October 2023. A visiting Professor of Violin and Chamber Music at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Setzer has also been bestowed the title of Artistic Director of Strings Chamber Music. As a regular faculty member of the Isaac Stern Chamber Music Workshops at Carnegie Hall and the Jerusalem Music Center, Setzer wrote an article about those workshops that appeared in The New York Times on the occasion of Isaac Stern’s 80th birthday celebration in 2000.
In 2016, Setzer teamed up with writer-director James Glossman for the Emerson’s music/theater project, Shostakovich and the Black Monk: A Russian Fantasy. Premiered at the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, Black Monk has been performed at the Tanglewood Music Festival, Princeton University, Wolf Trap, Ravinia Festival, Lotte Concert Hall, and Stony Brook University. Setzer has also been, and will continue, touring and recording the piano trio repertoire with David Finckel and Wu Han. He plays a violin made for him in 2011 by Samuel Zygmuntowicz.
Violin: Samuel Zygmuntowicz (NY, NY 2011)
Sponsored by Isabel & Lawrence Smith
Philip will be performing in the following concerts –
Conversations Across Centuries – Temple Beth El, June 11 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Youthful Inspirations – Kirk in the Hills, June 14 @ 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Creative Connections – Seligman Performing Arts Center, June 15 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Musical Chairs – Bloomfield Township Public Library, June 19 @ 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Creative Perfection – Seligman Performing Arts Center, June 22 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm