A native of Moscow, Russia, Sergei Galperin began studying violin at the age of 5 and shortly thereafter gave his first public performance in the Concert Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. Galperin comes from a family of musicians – a choral conductor mother, a recording engineer father, and a younger sister who plays the piano.
After studying at the Moscow Conservatory with professor N. Boyarsky, Galperin received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Juilliard School, where he was a full-scholarship student in the class of Dorothy DeLay and Hyo Kang. He later earned Artist Diplomas from Indiana University and Peabody Conservatory in the class of Z. Gilels, N. Shkolnikova, and H. Greenberg.
Galperin made his American solo orchestral debut in May 1982 at the age of 16, playing the Wieniawski Violin Concerto with the New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center. He has also performed as a soloist with the Houston Symphony in their Educational and Pops Series, as well as with the Indiana University, Aspen Symphony, and Dallas Festival orchestras.
As a winner of Artist International auditions, Galperin made his New York solo recital debut in March 1988 at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. After winning New York’s National Arts Club Competition in 1987, he was featured in recital on live ABC and PBS news shows. Subsequently he appeared in recital at Alice Tully and Merkin Concert Halls at Lincoln Center. In May 1993, he won an honorable mention award as a finalist of a prestigious Concert Artist Guild competition.
Currently a first violinist of the Houston Symphony, Galperin has also been invited to serve as Concertmaster with the Rochester Philharmonic for the 2004–05 season, as well as with the Adelaide Symphony in Australia. Prior to his current position, Galperin was a member of the Pittsburgh Symphony first violin section from 1999–2002. He has also worked with the Chicago and Baltimore symphony orchestras, as well as the Grant Park, Aspen, and Grand Teton festival orchestras, A. Schneider String Seminar, and Taos Chamber Music Festival. As a member of chamber and symphony orchestras Galperin has toured internationally in Australia, Malaysia, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Brazil, Argentina, Israel and Europe.
Sergei Galperin teaches privately and has served as a faculty member at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh in 1999–2003, as well as a Professor of Violin at the University of St. Thomas in Houston in 1998–99 and teaching assistant at the Indiana University School of Music from 1990–1994.