Alexander (Sasha) Kantsberg was born 1957 in Rostov on Don, a city with population about one and a half million people, the cultural capital of southern Russia.
In 1981, he finished MA in conducting at the Sergei Rachmaninov Academy of Music (in Rostov on Don).
From the age of 6 he studied the piano for 7 years in the municipal conservatory, played in the junior brass band and sang in the representative municipal Boys Choir.
In 1976 he finished his studies in the College of Art in the department of choir conducting, and worked at the time as a saxophone player in several jazz ensembles and big bands.
At
the beginning of his jazz career,
Alexander (Sasha) Kantsberg was
influenced by his close ties to the
musician and educator, Kim Nazaretov,
who was the first jazz professor in
the USSR.
In
1983 he was discharged from the army
(Red Army Choir), and was appointed as
the conductor of the representative
Children Chamber Choir of Rostov City.
With this choir, he performed for 5
years in the most famous auditoriums
in the USSR, and participated
successfully in various festivals.
In
1989, the Ministry of Education
commissioned a film "Prelude" to
document his work with the Children
Chamber Choir. This film was shown for
10 years on Russian TV. In addition to
his choir job, Alexander (Sasha)
Kantsberg was appointed as a mentor
for conducting jazz orchestras in the
Academy of Music of Rostov City.
In
1990, he immigrated to Israel with his
family, initially working as a
saxophone player in various combos.
From
1991, he works in Kfar-Saba's
Katzenelson High School, developing
the music department, participating in
setting up the music syllabus. In
school, he created a jazz orchestra, a
chamber choir and various ensembles in
jazz, classical and ethnic music, who
participated in many festivals and
competitions in Israel and abroad. He
won a bronze medal in the
international choir competition
"Shirat Hayamim". In addition, he won
a price with a Dixieland band in a
competition in Ra'anana for youth jazz
ensembles. Alexander (Sasha) Kantsberg
participated in a series of joint
concerts with the music department of
Central High School Philadelphia (US).
In
2002 he was chosen as the
representative of the Jewish agency to
participate in the Israeli delegation
to US for the world congress of Jewish
Teachers and Educators (CAJE).
Alexander
(Sasha) Kantsberg preformed in various
TV programs: "Independent Day" with
Yaffa Yarkoni, in the programs of Dan
Shilon, Ian Levinson, Irit Anavi, and
in the radio programs of Tova Klinger,
Liora Gan and Amnon Peer. In recent
years, he works as a conductor and
musical director of "Big Zbang" jazz
orchestra. Lately he published a disk
of arrangements of popular songs in
Hebrew for mixed choir a cappella.
» Alexander (Sasha) Kantsberg Official
Web Site
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