Violin
Yelisey began studying violin at the age of six. He began studying at the Prokofiev Music School for Youth in Moscow. When his family moved to America, he took weekly lessons with Dr. Vakhob Khashimov. Yelisey performed monthly recitals in galleries, local concert halls, places of worship, weddings, senior homes, etc.
In his time at GSU, Zelman would have studied with four different violin professors; most of the years there would be weekly lessons with three professors, each taking a different day of the week. After graduating, Zelman said, “Benefiting from a diverse range of instructors, each with their own unique perspective, enabled me to refine my style of playing, practicing, and performing."
Orchestral chairs/titles at GSU Symphony Orchestra:
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Spring 2022 and Spring 2023 - Concertmaster
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Fall 2021 and Fall 2022 - Associate Concertmaster
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Fall 2020-Spring 2021 - Principal Second Violin
Teaching/Tutoring
The fascination with teaching began in Yelisey's early years. When Yelisey was 13 years old, he began to run youth groups in his community’s synagogue. Every Saturday, during worship, he would read with the kids, teach them how to pray in Hebrew, play board games, and be the referee during basketball and football games.
When Zelman turned 17, he started his own violin studio. Throughout the years, Zelman taught students of all ages and backgrounds, ranging from a 5-year-old beginner to a 60-year-old who, in his youth, played violin.
In his third year at GSU, Yelisey began tutoring Music Theory and Music History. At first, he assisted his classmates, but when the word spread, tutoring expanded to anyone who requested.
Moments of Leisure
In his time away from music, Yelisey loves spending time with his family and friends. Growing up with three brothers and three sisters had many benefits. Finding someone to spend time with was never an issue. The four brothers love to watch and play sports together. On occasions that the family is gathered, there is always a trivia game (questions range from the names of demonic characters in Bulgakov’s “The Master and Margarita”, the number of Cantos in Dante’s “Divine Comedy”, to the year Géricault finished painting "The Raft of the Medusa").
Yelisey enjoys reading philosophical, theological, and literary works starting with Aeschylus, King David, and the Pre-Socratics to Dostoyevsky, Karol WojtyÅ‚a, and René Gerard. He loves studying history and is well-read in Roman, Russian and French history (one of his party tricks is to recite all of the Roman emperors from memory).
