Biography
Yaniv Segal has directed symphonic ensembles throughout the United States, the United Kingdom, and continental Europe while establishing three ensembles of his own. In addition to his podium work, he maintains an active career as both composer and performer.
Born in New York on May 9, 1981, to parents who had emigrated from Poland and Israel, Segal grew up in a trilingual household. His mother, Hanna Lachert, served as a violinist with the New York Philharmonic, and his father, David Segal, earned recognition as a violin maker. From the age of four he studied violin with Setsu Goto, mother of the celebrated violinist Midori. At eight he entered the Metropolitan Opera Chorus as a boy soprano, where he encountered conductor Georg Solti and soprano Dawn Upshaw. During his teenage years Segal balanced vocal performance with acting, appearing in a touring production of the musical The Secret Garden that visited Japan and numerous American cities; his mother sometimes played in the accompanying orchestra. He also recorded several television commercials.
At Vassar College in New York State, where he majored in music, Segal founded the Mahagonny Ensemble, devoted to contemporary repertoire. After graduation he worked in New York as a freelance violinist and helped create two further organizations: the Pamplemousse Ensemble, focused on new music, and the Chelsea Symphony, named for the Manhattan neighborhood and dedicated to supporting emerging players. The Chelsea Symphony contributed to the soundtrack of the Amazon series Mozart in the Jungle.
Segal pursued graduate studies at the University of Michigan, training in conducting with Kenneth Kiesler and in composition with Bright Sheng. While a student he led the Ann Arbor Symphony and served as substitute conductor with the Detroit Symphony. Following completion of his degree in 2013, he joined the Naples Philharmonic in Florida as assistant conductor in 2014, remaining until 2017; during that period he directed the orchestra’s youth ensemble and prepared roughly twenty concerts each season. He also traveled to Europe as assistant to Andrey Boreyko with the I, CULTURE Orchestra and appeared as guest conductor with the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, the New Symphony Orchestra of Bulgaria, and the Thuringen Philharmonie in Germany. Additional engagements included performances with the Krakow Philharmonic and Opera as well as the role of assistant conductor for the Krzysztof Penderecki Festival in Warsaw.
Segal continues to compose, frequently producing orchestral transcriptions of works originally written for other forces. These include orchestral settings of songs by Alma Mahler, introduced by the Naples Philharmonic; a Sonata for Orchestra derived from Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 7 in C minor, Op. 30, No. 2; and a Fidelio Symphony drawn from Beethoven’s opera of the same name. The two Beethoven-derived pieces appear on the Naxos album Beethoven Reimagined, recorded with Segal leading the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Released in 2020, the disc also contains the Beethoven9 Symphonic Remix by Gabriel Prokofiev.
Born in New York on May 9, 1981, to parents who had emigrated from Poland and Israel, Segal grew up in a trilingual household. His mother, Hanna Lachert, served as a violinist with the New York Philharmonic, and his father, David Segal, earned recognition as a violin maker. From the age of four he studied violin with Setsu Goto, mother of the celebrated violinist Midori. At eight he entered the Metropolitan Opera Chorus as a boy soprano, where he encountered conductor Georg Solti and soprano Dawn Upshaw. During his teenage years Segal balanced vocal performance with acting, appearing in a touring production of the musical The Secret Garden that visited Japan and numerous American cities; his mother sometimes played in the accompanying orchestra. He also recorded several television commercials.
At Vassar College in New York State, where he majored in music, Segal founded the Mahagonny Ensemble, devoted to contemporary repertoire. After graduation he worked in New York as a freelance violinist and helped create two further organizations: the Pamplemousse Ensemble, focused on new music, and the Chelsea Symphony, named for the Manhattan neighborhood and dedicated to supporting emerging players. The Chelsea Symphony contributed to the soundtrack of the Amazon series Mozart in the Jungle.
Segal pursued graduate studies at the University of Michigan, training in conducting with Kenneth Kiesler and in composition with Bright Sheng. While a student he led the Ann Arbor Symphony and served as substitute conductor with the Detroit Symphony. Following completion of his degree in 2013, he joined the Naples Philharmonic in Florida as assistant conductor in 2014, remaining until 2017; during that period he directed the orchestra’s youth ensemble and prepared roughly twenty concerts each season. He also traveled to Europe as assistant to Andrey Boreyko with the I, CULTURE Orchestra and appeared as guest conductor with the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, the New Symphony Orchestra of Bulgaria, and the Thuringen Philharmonie in Germany. Additional engagements included performances with the Krakow Philharmonic and Opera as well as the role of assistant conductor for the Krzysztof Penderecki Festival in Warsaw.
Segal continues to compose, frequently producing orchestral transcriptions of works originally written for other forces. These include orchestral settings of songs by Alma Mahler, introduced by the Naples Philharmonic; a Sonata for Orchestra derived from Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 7 in C minor, Op. 30, No. 2; and a Fidelio Symphony drawn from Beethoven’s opera of the same name. The two Beethoven-derived pieces appear on the Naxos album Beethoven Reimagined, recorded with Segal leading the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Released in 2020, the disc also contains the Beethoven9 Symphonic Remix by Gabriel Prokofiev.
Albums
