Pasha Tseitlin

Pasha Tseitlin made his debut as a soloist at the age of 9 performing Vivaldi’s Seasons. As a classical concert performer, Pasha is distinguished by his virtuosity, intensity, and heartfelt sensitivity. Barbara Kraft of Time Magazine described Pasha’s performing as “…cliff hanging…crackling with visceral energy.” Or as San Diego critic for the LA times Kenneth Herman put it: “simply irresistible.”

Pasha has performed Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5 with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, the Glazunov Violin Concerto with the Ryazan Philharmonic, Szymanowski Concerto with the USC Symphony, Prokofiev No. 1 and Berg Concerto with the La Jolla Symphony and Paganini’s Perpetuo Mobile with the San Diego Symphony, among others. He recently made his television debut with vocalist Lizz Wright in a tribute to the jazz legend Ella Fitzgerald. The program was nationally aired on PBS.

Being a classical violinist in the 21st century, Pasha believes that to better himself as a musician, he must take it upon himself to continuously get “out of the box”. Aside from a collection of standard concert repertoire, Pasha is dedicated and has a deep love to the more contemporary and obscure works. From Thomas Adès to George Crumb, to the young composer looking for the big break, Pasha doesn’t limit himself to what’s comfortable. Pasha also takes it upon himself to learn new styles as well. Recently Pasha recorded at Sony Sound Studios as principal violin for orchestral and chamber music scores featured in “The Soloist” starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr. Additionally, Pasha performed a duet with Monica Mancini on “A House is Not a Home” in a tribute to Burt Bacharach. Also with a background in jazz improvisation, Pasha performs jazz shows with his band NY Unit on his performance tours in Japan. He has also toured Germany, Austria, Italy, Belgium, Brazil, Portugal, Russia, Japan, and of course his home, the United States.

The most interesting and exciting aspect of being a classical concert violinist for Pasha is the collaboration opportunities with other great artists. Pasha’s collaborative versatility ranges from playing with artists from Midori to Barry Manilow. During Pasha’s concert tour in Russia he shared the stage with bass virtuoso Artem Chirkov, Principal Bassist of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, in a performance of Botessini’s Grand Duo and Mozart Violin Concerto No. 5. The St. Petersburg Music Journal praised Pasha’s performances as “…great in musicianship and technically superb…played with elegance and brilliance.” Pasha was also featured in the May 2008 issue of Strad Magazine.

Beyond concert and recording engagements, Pasha has a desire to use his gifts to serve the community at large. He has worked with the Salvation Army giving free concerts, demonstrations, and encouragement to anyone seeking a passion. Through his community involvement it is Pasha’s hope to inspire vision, create beauty, and motivate individuals towards constant improvement.

The fall season of 2012 will be a busy one for Pasha as he will be going on tour in Europe and Asia that will starting in Belgium and ending in Japan. The release of his first CD is scheduled for May of this year. The recording will feature the music of Mozart, Szymanowski, and jazz composers Bill Evans, Raye & DePaul. Additionally in May, Pasha will be holding a benefit concert in San Diego for U.S. veterans and wounded troops from Camp Pendelton.