Arts&Life

music

36 | FEBRUARY 27 • 2020 

The 
Conducting 
Circuit

Yaniv Segal will raise his baton with 
orchestras in Ann Arbor and Detroit. 

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Y

aniv Segal, a performer enriched by 
varied entertainment achievements, 
will conduct both the Detroit and 
Ann Arbor symphony orchestras this sea-
son.
Segal, who has been based in Ann Arbor 
for more than a decade, has sung with the 
Metropolitan Opera in New York, acted in 
Broadway and touring productions, per-
formed on violin and made recordings of 
his own compositions.
As conductor, he will raise his baton in 
Ann Arbor to feature Broadway hits on 
March 14 and 15. Then, joining the Detroit 
Symphony Orchestra (DSO), he will lead an 
April 25 family program, “Gershwin’
s Magic 
Key,
” with music and storytelling combined.
“With my childhood experiences in 
show business, particularly touring in The 
Secret Garden, the Broadway program feels 
very appropriate and special,
” he said. “In 
Detroit, I can express my love for family 

programs, which help expose young listen-
ers to great composers.
”
Segal, 38, had his own early exposure 
to music through his mother, retired New 
York Philharmonic violinist Hanna Lachert, 
and his father, violin maker David Segal, 
who operates his own business in New 
York. After starting with violin at age 4, 
the then-aspiring performer wanted to try 
out for the Metropolitan Opera Children’
s 
Chorus at age 8.
He sang on stage with the likes of Dawn 
Upshaw, Kathleen Battle and Luciano 
Pavarotti. At 11, he toured for a year in the 
role of Colin in the first national tour of 
The Secret Garden, performing in a new city 
every week except for two months in Japan. 
For the first six months, Segal’
s mom 
took a sabbatical from the orchestra to look 
after her son. For the second six months, 
she played in the production orchestra after 
the concertmaster left for another show.

“I could glance down into the pit and see 
my mom playing,
” Segal recalled. “Much 
later, my mom invited me to be with her 
playing violin or viola in chamber groups 
featuring her Philharmonic colleagues. 
Sometimes, I would be her conductor.
”
After the tour and back in New York, 
Segal studied violin while also taking a 
respite from professional musical perfor-
mance. Instead, he accepted a role in Tom 
Stoppard’
s spy drama, Hapgood.
When the play ended its run, he returned 
to musical priorities and attended Vassar 
College. He moved on to freelance on vio-
lin, compose and start, with a colleague, the 
nonprofit Chelsea Symphony, offering pro-
fessional development to emerging musi-
cians playing classical and new music.

MAKING MUSIC IN MICHIGAN
In 2008, Segal decided to concentrate on 
conducting and composing. He chose the 

BRUNO FIDRYCH

