Author Lev “Ljova” Zhurbin

Lev “Ljova” Zhurbin

Lev “Ljova” Zhurbin was born in 1978 in Moscow, Russia, and moved to New York with his parents, composer Alexander Zhurbin and writer Irena Ginzburg in 1990. He divides his time between composing for the concert stage, contemporary dance & film, and leading his own ensemble LJOVA AND THE KONTRABAND. He also has a busy career as a freelance violist, violinist, and musical arranger. Among recent projects is a string quartet for Brooklyn Rider and a commission for Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Project, arrangements for Alan Pierson and the Brooklyn Philharmonic, tenor Javier Camarena, conductor Alondra de la Parra, the Mexican songwriter Natalia Lafourcade, composer/guitarist Gustavo Santaolalla, The Knights, A Far Cry, and collaborations with choreographers Aszure Barton, Damian Woetzel, Christopher Wheeldon and Eduardo Vilaro (with Ballet Hispanico).