EMANUEL MESHVINSKI
CONDUCTOR // COMPOSER
PRESS
SHORT BIOGRAPHY
Emanuel “Emu” Meshvinski (b. 2002, Hamburg) is a composer, conductor, and Artistic Director of the Jewish Chamber Orchestra Hamburg. He seeks jazz within classical music, joy within seriousness, and hope within darkness – connecting concert hall, film, and club. After studies in Hamburg and Zurich and conducting training with Johannes Schläfli and Vassily Sinayski, he works with orchestras, actors, and ensembles across Europe. With the JCOHH, which he leads, he gives new voice to Jewish music and shapes Hamburg’s cultural landscape.
MEDIUM BIOGRAPHY
Emanuel “Emu” Meshvinski (b. 2002, Hamburg) is a composer, conductor, and Artistic Director of the Jewish Chamber Orchestra Hamburg (JCOHH). He searches for jazz in classical music, joy in seriousness, and hope in darkness, building bridges between the concert hall, film, and club.
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He studied viola at the Hamburg University of Music and Theatre with Anna Kreetta Gribajcevic, and composition in Hamburg and at the Zurich University of the Arts (with André Bellmont and Till Löffler, among others). He received conducting instruction from Iwan Wassilewski, Johannes Schläfli, and Vassily Sinayski.
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His performances have brought him to venues such as the Elbphilharmonie, the Ernst Deutsch Theater, and the Hamburger Kammerspiele. Collaborations link him with the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich as well as artists like Iris Berben, Peter Lohmeyer, Jens Harzer, David Geringas or DJ KID SIMIUS. As a composer, Emu moves between orchestral, chamber, theatre, and film music; recordings have been made with the Budapest Scoring Orchestra and Swiss Radio, and his works have been featured at film festivals in Belgium, Switzerland, and the USA. His Romance for String Orchestra was awarded the 2023 ESTA Switzerland Composition Prize; since 2025, he has been a fellow of the Claussen-Simon Foundation.
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Following the death of his father, Emu took over the leadership of the jointly founded Jewish Chamber Orchestra Hamburg in 2021 and, within a few years, established it among Hamburg’s leading chamber orchestras. The JCOHH develops formats that illuminate Jewish music from diverse perspectives, collaborates with international artists, and has been featured in media such as DIE ZEIT, Deutschlandfunk, and the Hamburger Abendblatt.
LONG BIOGRAPHY
Emanuel “Emu” Meshvinski (b. 2002, Hamburg) is a composer, conductor, and Artistic Director of the Jewish Chamber Orchestra Hamburg (JCOHH). He seeks jazz in classical music, joy in seriousness, and hope in darkness – bridging concert hall, film, and club.
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He began with violin and piano and was a pre-college student at the Cologne University of Music and Dance from 2016 to 2019, studying with Alexander Gordon. This was followed by viola studies at the Hamburg University of Music and Theatre with Anna Kreetta Gribajcevic (2019–2024), and composition studies—first in Hamburg with Fredrik Schwenk, then at the Zurich University of the Arts (2021–2024), focusing on film, theatre, and media composition with André Bellmont and Till Löffler. His conducting teachers include Iwan Wassilewski, Johannes Schläfli, and Vassily Sinayski.
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Emanuel has received numerous awards, including the 2023 ESTA Switzerland Composition Prize for his Romance for String Orchestra and recognition at the Elise Meyer Competition. From 2019 to 2024 he was a fellow of the Ernst Ludwig Ehrlich Scholarship Foundation; since 2025, he has been supported by the Claussen-Simon Foundation.
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As both composer and conductor, Emu has appeared at major venues such as the Elbphilharmonie and Laeiszhalle Hamburg, the Tonhalle Zurich, the Gessnerallee, and the Hamburger Kammerspiele, among others across Germany. His works have been performed at festivals in Switzerland, Belgium, the USA, and beyond; recordings include collaborations with the Budapest Scoring Orchestra and projects for Swiss Television.
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He has worked with orchestras and institutions such as the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, the Hamburg State Youth Orchestra, and the Ernst Deutsch Theater, as well as with artists including Iris Berben, Peter Lohmeyer, David Geringas, Jens Wawrczek and DJ KID SIMIUS. His work has been featured in DIE ZEIT, Deutschlandfunk, and the Hamburger Abendblatt.
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After the death of his father, Emu took over the leadership of the Jewish Chamber Orchestra Hamburg in 2021. As conductor and artistic director, he has since shaped the orchestra’s vision: to present Jewish musical culture from new perspectives and make it accessible to a wide audience. Within just a few years, he has positioned the ensemble among Hamburg’s most vital and forward-looking orchestras.