Canadian-Israeli pianist, Dr. Michael Berkovsky, made his New York debut at the David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center and has toured as soloist in Ireland, Japan, Italy, Israel, Canada, the United States and Costa Rica; as well as performed under the baton of Vladimir Feltsman, Stefan Sanderling, Leon Fleisher and William Noll. Michael won numerous international awards and regularly collaborates with chamber groups and award winning musicians. He was a guest artist at many international festivals, including Arts Naples where he collaborated with Russian pianist Pavel Narcessian, and Music Niagara Festival. He frequents the cultural scene of his community in Toronto and has performed with Kindred Spirit Orchestra, York Symphony Orchestra and many others.
A passionate and dedicated music educator as well as a highly sought after piano teacher, Dr. Berkovsky is on the faculty of the Glenn Gould School and the Phil and Eli Taylor Performance Academy for Young Artists, at the Canadian Royal Conservatory of Music. He also maintains a private studio in which a number of his students have placed highly in provincial, national and international competitions. Additionally, Michael is a board member of the Canadian Music Competition as well as an advisor on the Artistic Committee of the Chinese Cultural Center Music Festival.
He was a recipient of the America Israel Cultural Foundation Scholarships from 1994-2001. On the recommendation from Maestro Valery Gergiev, Michael was awarded the White Nights Foundation Scholarships while studying at The Juilliard School.
Born in the former Soviet Union and immigrated to Israel in 1990, Michael has studied with Nataly Litvinova and was mentored by Alexander Slobodyanik. In 2001, his family moved to Toronto, Canada. He received his Bachelor and Master’s degrees from The Juilliard School where he studied with Yoheved Kaplinsky and Julian Martin. In 2011, he completed his Doctoral degree at the Peabody Conservatory of the John Hopkins University under the tutelage of Professor Yong Hi Moon.
“It’s not surprising to encounter talented pianists, but it sure is fun to hear one who has something distinctive to say” – Baltimore Sun
Israeli born pianist, Coral Solomon has been praised for her “distinct sensibility” and “original view” (Radio Romania Musical), and has performed numerous solo recitals throughout Canada, USA, Italy, France, Spain, Romania, and Israel. She has appeared as soloist with over a dozen orchestras across Canada, Italy, and Romania- where she performed with the state philharmonic orchestras of Sibiu, Timisoara, Brasov, Bacau, Arad, Tergu Mures, Ploiesti, Ramnicu Valcea,
among others. Upon her 3rd collaboration with the Bacau Philharmonic Orchestra, she debuted a piano concerto transcription of Rachmaninoff’s Variations on a Theme by Corelli. The work was written and dedicated to her by conductor emeritus of New Jersey Plainfield Symphony, Sabin Pautza, who also conducted the premier.
Coral regularly performs in her community as soloist with orchestra, in solo performances, as well as chamber collaborations. Some of this season performances included: Saint Saens Piano Concerto No 2 with the York Chamber Strings (sharing the stage with her 9 year old student who debuted a full Bach concerto) and violin and piano concert as part of Music Niagra Festival with violinist Emma Meinreiken. Coral remained active in streamed performance projects during the pandemic including presenting a solo recital for the Princess Margaret Hospital Concert Series, a collaborative recital for the Klein Competition at the California Music Centre with violinist Julia Mirzoev, and as soloist with the Kindred Spirits Orchestra performing the Chopin Piano Concerto in E minor.
Prior to the pandemic she had roles in diverse projects including serving as artistic director for the first Canadian edition of the George Enescu International Festival (originating in Romania, where it is one of the largest classical music festivals in the world) and performing in the Festival’s opening concert with the concertmaster of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Jonathan Crow; working with Academy Award winning actress Cate Blanchett, as her piano coach for the TV series: “Mrs. America”; and appearing as the piano soloist in Toronto’s internationally acclaimed Fall for Dance North Festival that took place in the Meridian Hall (formally known as the Sony Centre). Coral is grateful for the support of Beethoven Society of Pianists - Greater Toronto Chapter which has kindly sponsored partial performance expenses in many of the local venues these past years.
Devoted to her community’s musical education scene, Coral is frequently invited to adjudicate competitions and lead masterclasses. She currently maintains a full-time private studio at her home in Thornhill where her students regularly take part in performances and place highly in competitions and exams. She is also the director of the Berkovsky-Solomon Academy of Music (BSAM) founded by her and her husband, Michael Berkovsky, which offers additional piano and theory instructors in several locations across the Greater Toronto Area as well as online. Through her program, she supports and tries to expose students to different social and career platforms in our music community.
She often is involved with organizing several local events each term as well as hosting international guest masterclasses, concerts, and other educational events. Her Academy partnered with the wonderful Arts Access Fund which financially assists need-based families through covering a portion of their music lesson tuition. Coral has also collaborated with running other educational projects, such as serving as a founding director and advisor for the Avenue Road Music and Performance Academy as they launched their new music program in the summer of 2022. She was invited to join the RCM College of Examiners and has become an Examiner in 2022.
After moving with her family to Toronto in 2004, Coral was a student at the Young Artist Performance Academy of the Royal Conservatory of Music. Prizewinner of several competitions, Coral was interviewed by numerous North American and European television channels and has participated in intensive international summer festivals such as the Pianofest in the Hamptons (Long Island, NY), the Morningside Music Bridge Institute (Calgary), and the Toronto Summer Music Institute.
Coral has completed her undergraduate degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music and her Master’s degree at Boston University, under the tutelage of Antonio Pompa-Baldi and Pavel Nersessian respectively. During her studies in the United States, she was a recipient of the generous Canada Council for the Arts’ Musician Grant. Coral is currently pursuing her Doctoral of Music degree in piano performance at the University of Toronto with Enrico Elisi, on full scholarship. Inspired by all the singing and dancing she frequently does with her two young and funny children, Coral has taken on a new hobby, as a certified RCM Smart Start instructor, to introduce more beautiful babies and toddlers to the magical world of classical music.