About this Artist
Born and raised in St. Petersburg, Russia, Mark Kashper started taking violin lessons at the age of 5. In addition to being a graduate of the Moscow Conservatory, where he was one of the last and favorite pupils of the legendary David Oistrakh, Kashper also graduated from Leningrad Conservatory. As a student, he received numerous awards and scholarships. As the assistant concertmaster and soloist with the Moscow Conservatory Chamber Orchestra, he concertized extensively throughout the Soviet Union, Europe, and Latin America.
In February 1978, Kashper arrived in the United States as a refugee and three months later won an audition to become a member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In September 1979 he was promoted to the first violin section, and he became the orchestra’s Associate Principal Second Violin in May 1986. In March of 1987, Kashper won high praise for his performance of Luciano Berio’s Corale in its West Coast premiere with the LA Phil under the direction of Pierre Boulez. He has also appeared as soloist with the orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl and at the Ojai Festival, as well as in many New Music Group and Chamber Music programs. Between 2007 and 2011, Kashper led the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s second violin section as its Acting Principal.
Kashper performs extensively in the Los Angeles area and throughout the United States. He is the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony’s founding principal concertmaster and a frequent featured soloist.
Kashper participated in the concerts of the Super World Orchestra―an ensemble made up of principal players from most of the world’s greatest orchestras―under the direction of Lorin Maazel in 2001. In June 2006, he represented the US in concerts of the World Philharmonic Orchestra―a unique ensemble that included principal players of the leading symphony orchestras from 80 countries.