Michael Zukernik is the Artistic Director of the Ferenc Fricsay International Conducting Competition, Philharmonisches Kammerorchester Berlin, and CONCERT MEDIA AG, which he founded to foster professional performance and career development.
Originally a classical percussionist, he was the youngest member of the Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon LeZion and later served as principal timpanist with orchestras such as Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona and Auckland Philharmonia.
Born in Moscow in 1970, Michael Zukernik was trained as a classical percussionist. At the age of nineteen he became the youngest member of the Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon LeZion. Throughout his career, he has performed as a principal timpanist with ensembles as diverse as the Spanish Symphony Orchestra of Barcelona and the Auckland Philharmonic in New Zealand. His first conducting classes with Jorma Panula took him to Finland, Sweden, Germany, Russia and Croatia.
Zukernik has conducted the Rome Symphony Orchestra, the Israel Symphony Orchestra, the Svetlanov Russian State Academic Symphony Orchestra, the St. Petersburg State Academic Symphony Orchestra, the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, the Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, the Manukau City Symphony Orchestra in New Zealand, and the Macao Orchestra in China.
He worked with Andrei Gavrilov and received engagements from the Berlin Philharmonic, the Beethovenhalle in Bonn, and the Laeisz Concert Hall in Hamburg.
In 2002 Zukernik founded the Philharmonisches Kammerorchester Berlin. The ensemble performed in such prestigious venues as the Konzerthaus and Philharmonie (Berlin), the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, and the French Dome in Berlin’s Friedrichsstadt. Later, Michael Zukernik seized the opportunity to bring the Chamber Orchestra to the international stage. As a result, the group was invited to tour South Korea and China.
Michael Zukernik continues to serve as the orchestras Principal Conductor and combines his leadership and artistry in collaboration with many international orchestras, guest artists, soloists, and special events, having produced hundreds of classical concerts and master class opportunities for the next generation of conductors and concert artists as well.
In 2023, Zukernik founded the International Ferenc Fricsay Conducting Competition dedicated to the legendary Hungarian conductor Ferenc Fricsay. The first edition attracted over 500 applications and more than 100 participants, making a noticeable contribution to the Hungarian cultural landscape.
