Michelle Bushkova is a conductor, violinist, and pianist. As a versatile musician, her repertoire covers a wide range of styles and eras, from baroque to the present day. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in conducting at the Juilliard School with David Robertson, where she is a recipient of the Bruno Walter Memorial Scholarship.
Shortly after beginning her journey as a conductor in 2023, Michelle was accepted by Jorma Panula into his conducting masterclass with the Kecskemét Symphony Orchestra in Hungary. Soon after, she was selected by Riccardo Muti as one of four young conductors to work on the opera “Attila” by G. Verdi, as a part of the “Italian Opera Academy” at the Tokyo Spring Festival (Japan). Michelle was appointed Undergraduate Assistant Conductor of the Case Western Reserve University Symphony Orchestra in Cleveland in the 2024-2025 academic year (USA) while pursuing a double bachelor’s degree in both instruments at the Cleveland Institute of Music with Ilya Kaler and Olga Dubossarskaya-Kaler on the violin, and Antonio Pompa-Baldi on the piano.
As a violin soloist, she has appeared with the “Moscow Virtuosi” and “New Russia” Symphony Orchestras, as well as the philharmonic orchestras of Saratov, Yaroslavl, Ankara, and Istanbul, and the chamber orchestras of Minsk and Portland. She has performed in international festivals such as Keshet Eilon (Israel), Musica Mundi (Belgium), NYMF in Gstaad (Switzerland), Moscow Autumn, Stay-in-May (Florida), and Siletz Bay (Oregon). most recently in January of 2026, Michelle was featured with the Tel Aviv Soloist Ensemble as conductor, violin, and piano soloist. Michelle joins Weill Cornell Music and Medicine as Orchestral Conductor beginning in the 2026–2027 season.