Jacques Gershkovitch

Jacques Gershkovitch (1884–1953) was a Russian-American conductor and flutist, the first music director of Portland Youth Philharmonic. He was born in Irkutsk and studied at the Saint Petersburg Imperial Conservatory, graduating with honors in 1913. Gershkovitch received the Schubert Scholarship and spent a year in Berlin studying under conductor Arthur Nikisch.

After returning to Russia, Jacques Gershkovitch enlisted to the army during the World War I. He became a head of the Imperial Russian Army's Military Symphony Orchestra by 1916 and held this position throughout the Russian Revolution. In 1918, Jacques established a fine arts conservatory and symphony orchestra in Irkutsk. Gershkovitch crossed the China border with his wife in 1921 to escape from Bolsheviks and joined the ballet dancer Anna Pavlova as an assistant conductor of her orchestra touring across Asia.

In 1923, Jacques Gershkovitch immigrated to the United States. He led Portland Youth Philharmonic for almost thirty years, attracting national attention to the first youth orchestra in the country.