A native of Athens Greece, Russian violinist Alexander Volkov joined the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in 2020.
Alexander studied with Professor Atis Bankas and Peter Seminovs at the Phil and Eli Taylor Academy for Young Artists as well as the Glenn Gould School in Toronto. He was a recipient of The Ihnatowycz Emerging Artist Scholarships, receiving full scholarship for his degree.
During the pursuit of his degree in Violin Performance, Alexander participated in a variety of festivals, competitions and training programs. Over several years, he won first prizes in Kiwanis, Leons, North York festivals. In addition, he was a three-time first-place winner of the Canadian Music Competition and was awarded the grand prize in 2013. The following year, he won the Glenn Gould Concerto Competition where he performed the Brahms Violin Concerto with the Royal Conservatory Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Leon Fleisher. He also frequently performed as a soloist with the Cathedral Bluffs Symphony, York Symphony, and Aurora Chamber Ensemble and Sherbrooke Symphony Orchestra.
Alexander participated in prestigious orchestra-training festivals such as the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California, Leonard Bernstein’s Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival in Germany (twice), and the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan (thrice). These training programs led him to perform as a fellow at the New York Philharmonic and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Most notably, he trained at the Institute for Orchestral Studies at the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, Canada.
Prior to joining the symphony, Alexander held section violin positions at the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto, Canada and Quebec Symphony Orchestra in Quebec City, Canada. He was a frequent substitute violinist at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. He owes his achievements to his parents, who are graduates of the Moscow Conservatory and have extensive musical backgrounds.
