death_place death_date birth_place nationality birth_date known_for spouse article_title name occupation
portland , oregon , u.s. 1953 irkutsk , siberia , russia russian 1884 first conductor of the portland youth philharmonic lucia jacques gershkovitch
 jacques gershkovitch conductor , musician
jacques gershkovitch

jacques gershkovitch -lrb- 1884 -- 1953 -rrb- was a russian conductor and musician who became the first music director of the portland junior symphony -lrb- now known as the portland youth philharmonic -rrb- , the first youth orchestra in the united states , based in portland , oregon .
born to a musical family in irkutsk , gershkovitch was sent to saint petersburg in his late teens to study at the imperial conservatory , where he learned from respected russian composers .
in 1913 he graduated with the title of `` laureate '' and honors in flute and conducting , and was awarded the schubert scholarship for a year of study under german conductor arthur nikisch in berlin , a period that was begun but cut short due to world war i. gershkovitch returned to irkutsk to enlist , and by 1916 he had become head of the imperial russian army 's military symphony orchestra .
he held this position through the russian revolution and thereafter , as concerts were often presented as benefits for orphans and the red cross .
gershkovitch married in irkutsk in 1918 .
there , he established a fine arts conservatory and symphony orchestra which continued under the bolshevik regime .
in 1921 , he and his wife crossed the border in china to escape from russia .
ballerina anna pavlova offered gershkovitch the assistant conductor position with her orchestra , which was touring throughout the orient .
gershkovitch remained in japan to lead the newly organized tokyo symphony orchestra .
however , the 1923 great kantō earthquake disrupted the organization and caused gershkovitch and his wife to emigrate to the united states .
the couple arrived in san francisco in november 1923 and made their way to portland in 1924 .
there , gershovitch was approached by mary dodge and two of her students to lead the portland junior symphony .
known for his discipline and high performance standards , gershkovitch conducted the orchestra for twenty-nine years , gaining national attention for the ensemble and pioneering the youth orchestra movement until his death in 1953 .
