Besnik Yzeiri

Bio

Born in Shkoder, Albania, Besnik began his Violin studies at the age of six at the Arts High
School “Prenke Jakova”. As a Viola student, he has studied at such prestigious institutions as the
University of Arts in Tirana and Conservatory “Giuseppe Verdi” in Milan, Italy. After a
successful career as an orchestral musician in Europe, Besnik moved to North America, settling
in Canada pursuing a master’s degree at Wayne State University, and is currently a DMA student
in Viola Performance at University of California Santa Barbara. He has shared the stage with
famous stars such as Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Andrea Bocelli, Ray Charles and
many more. In 2004, Besnik was nominated for the Gemini Awards and four years later was
awarded the Juno Awards as a violist with the Windsor Symphony Orchestra. He frequently
performs in both Canada and Southern California, and in such different musical styles as
symphonic, chamber music, opera, musical theater, jazz and other improvised music, traditional
Albanian and Balkan music. Besnik’s first CD “Passion” - a world music genre written and
performed in an instrumental-cinematographic technique, parades the fusion of Balkans, Gypsy,
and Mediterranean style with Classic, Jazz, Latin, and Celtic music. In 2016 CBC Radio Canada
defined Besnik’s music the mastery of “the East meets the West”.