Curriculum Vitae
Hailed by New York Times as "enticing and brilliant", Michael Bulychev-Okser debuted with Manhattan Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Jonathan Strasser. Michael has performed thousands of solos, chamber, and orchestral concerts, collaborating with conductors like Kynan Johns (USA), Dmitri Yablonsky (Israel), and Robert Lehrbaumer (Austria).
Critics praise Michael's "imaginative and intelligent style" (David Dubal), "Elegance and grace the piano is destined to produce" (Cosmo Buono), and "Sheer poetry and panoramic vision" (Las Provincias, Valencia).
Bulychev-Okser's extensive piano career has showcased him in solo recitals and orchestra appearances around the globe on the world's most prestigious stages: Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall (New York), Kennedy Center (Washington, D.C.), La Salle Pleyel (Paris), Wigmore Hall (London), Heichal Hatarbut (Tel Aviv), The Saal Palace (Alexandria), IBK Concert Hall (Seoul), and Universidad Nuevo Leon (Monterrey).
Bulychev-Okser's discography includes recordings of Beethoven's "Pathetique" Sonata and "Goyeskas" by Granados (RCA label), "Transcriptions from Past to Future" (Neue Sterne, Germany), and "Music by living New York composers", recorded live at the Barge Music Festival in New York. Recordings 2023 include complete Ballades and Scherzos by Frederic Chopin (Odradek Record Label) and an album on Convivium Records Label/Naxos as a duo with the British violinist Miriam Davis, celebrating the legacy of Marcel Proust.
A recipient of Who’s Who in Music, Michael has been featured on CBS and Channel 12 programs and WQXR and WWFM radio stations, in addition to international media: TV1 (Russia), TV3 (Estonia), RAI 1 (Italy), and Nippon TV (Japan).
An avid collaborative musician, Michael Bulychev-Okser collaborated with pianists Olga Kern, Dmitri Bashkirov, and Daniel Pollack; violinists Shlomo Mintz, Pierre Amoyal, Albert Markov, Miriam Davis, Alyssa Margulis; cellists Raphael Wallfisch and Colin Carr; violists Paul Neubauer and Alexander Zemtsov; clarinetist Julian Milkis and Metropolitan Opera soprano, Olga Makarina.
Committed to innovative programming and celebrating the world's cultures, Bulychev-Okser has performed rare Italian paraphrases (Ravenna, 2014), presented recitals of music exclusively by Baltic composers (in Estonia and Latvia), and has transcribed Chinese folk songs in a jazzy style; his performance of transcriptions on the bank of Yangtze River was shown to over a million viewers worldwide.
An educator with 20 years of experience, Michael Bulychev-Okser is a Piano Professor at Lucy Moses School at Kaufman Music Center and Long Island Conservatory. He also held teaching positions at New York University, Rutgers University of New Jersey, and Mokwon University in South Korea. While teaching piano to a variety of students aged 7-36, Bulychev-Okser has developed his own method of piano education, which is focused on developing critical thought processes. Bulychev-Okser summarized his method in the book “Conversations with students”, which is to be published in 2022 in New York.
Bulychev-Okser is a frequent guest at many music festivals, competitions, and concert series, including Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, U. K.; Todi International Music Festival, Italy; Kaufmann Music Center, New York; Latvian Academy of Music in Riga; Changsha Music Competition, China; Valencia International Piano Festival, Spain; Piano Island Festival, Singapore; International piano festival in Universidad de Nuevo Leon, Mexico; Buchmann-Mehta School of Music at Tel Aviv University, Israel; Sarajishvili Tbilisi State Conservatory: Tbilisi, Georgia; SUMY International Festival (Ukraine); Rachmaninov Concert Hall in Moscow, Russia; Isidor Bajic Piano Competition – Novi Sad, Serbia; XX Scriabin International Competition – Grosetto, Italy; XVI Compositores des Espagna – Madrid, Spain; Piano Competition “Vals de travers” – Nouchatel, Switzerland; XI MozArte Piano Competition – Aachen, Germany; XI Lyon International Piano Competition – Lyon, France; Palais Auersperg in Vienna, Austria, and Paderewski and Chopin International Competitions in the United States and Poland.
Bulychev-Okser’s commitment to initiating multicultural musical forums and curating concert series has inspired him to establish George Gershwin International Music Competition in New York, and Classical Hugs International Music Festival, a large-scale annual event, presenting master classes, lectures, and concerts in 4 countries: Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Finland.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Michael Bulychev-Okser has performed numerous online concerts, including the United States premiere of Thin Air by Calliope Tsoupaki on behalf of Festivals for Compassion. Michael’s online concerts in support of New York medical and emergency workers were awarded Honorary Diplomas by the New York Assembly Member, William Colton. Michael Bulychev-Okser also organized Classical Hugs - Online Music Festival, which supports musicians across the globe with educative and performance opportunities, during times of health crises.
Concert season 2022-2023 will feature Bulychev-Okser performance of Mendelssohn’s Double Concerto with legendary Shlomo Mintz, solo recitals at Sala Baldini in Rome and at Washington International Piano Festival, D.C., orchestra appearances in multiple festivals in France, Spain, Italy, and Estonia Concert Hall in Tallinn, a lecture-recitals at Raritan Valley College (USA) and at Seoul University (South Korea).