Son of acclaimed pianists Miri Yampolsky and Xak Bjerken, Misha Bjerken has been playing the double bass for over eight years. He has played in the Cornell Symphony Orchestra, the Cornell Chamber Orchestra, the Tompkins County Youth Orchestra, and the Kinhaven Music Camp Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, to which he will be returning to this summer, among others. In 2017, he made his New York City debut with the Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra in Carnegie Hall. He has also played with the group for the past two years, performing at the Hochstein School of Music and Dance, Kodak Hall at Eastman Theater, and Roberts Wesleyan College. Also an avid singer, he has sung in the Boynton Middle School Choirs, the Ithaca Young Men’s Choir, the Kinhaven Chamber Choir, and twice with the Area All-State Concert Choirs. Currently, he sings in the Ithaca High School Chamber Choir and plays in the Ithaca High School Chamber Orchestra. When not singing or playing bass, Misha enjoys reading, biking, and playing badminton.
Mayfest 