ANATOLY GELBAK
Piano
Anatoly Gelbak is a product of the Saratov Sobinov Conservatorium, one of Russia’s oldest and most prestigious training grounds for concert pianists. Among its more famous performers and teachers were Satanovsky, Goldfeder, Bednitsky and Anatoly Katz.
Anatoly began his studies at Saratov Conservatorium under Professor Satanovsky, and excelled at performing, chamber music and composition. The chamber music ensemble in which he played took first prize in the national Russian student chamber music competitions.
After graduation Gelbak taught piano for 19 years at the Sukhumi State College of Music, at the same time pursuing a concert career which took him to all the major musical centres of the Soviet Union. He also was Chief Concertmaster and Assistant Conductor for the Abkhazia State Capella Choir.
Concert Performances in Russia:
Gelbak formed a piano trio which performed all over the Soviet Union in
centres including Moscow, Leningrad, Riga, Donetsk, Tallinn, Vilnius and
many others.
He gave recitals, accompanied singers and instrumentalists.
He also played piano concertos with the Sukhumi, Tbilisi, Kiev, Nalchik symphony orchestras (Mozart, Tschaikovsky, Saint-Sains, Rimsky-Korsakov, Gershwin, Poulenc, Petrov).
He toured the length and breadth of Russia with the Abkhazia State Capella Choir In addition, he was Musical Director for such shows as My Fair Lady and The Gypsies in the Abkhazia State Drama Theatre.
Gelbak in Australia:
Institutional Teaching experience:
St Kevin’s College
Bialik College
Mount Scopus (coaching scholarship students)
Accompanied students for AMEB, VCE and Trinity College instrumental and
vocal examinations.
Was actively involved in school musical productions at McKinnon Secondary
College, Murrumbeena Secondary College, Bialik College, St Kevin’s
College.
Wrote arrangements for school orchestras.
Assisted in the opera studio at the Voice and Opera Department of the
Victorian College of the Arts as concertmaster (insert), also training
students in German and Italian pronunciation.
Currently teaching piano at Scotch College to A Mus A level.
Private teaching:
Extensive private piano teaching experience – all levels up to concert
performance level and accompanying student instrumentalists and vocalists
for VCE, AMEB examinations.
Anatoly realises, however, that many students prefer to study music outside the examination structure, and enjoys working with such students to give them the right technical foundation and appreciation of different music styles, enabling them to gain maximum pleasure from their musical experience.
Performing in Australia and New Zealand:
A concert series as pianist in the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, as follows:
(insert) Regular participation in Jewish community choral concerts and
accompanying soloists (Concerts in Melbourne, Sydney, Auckland).