Lev "Ljova" Zhurbin was born in 1978 in Moscow, Russia, and moved to New York with his parents in 1990. Today, he stands at the forefront of his generation as the premiere bridge between the world's musical cultures. He divides his time between performing as a violist in diverse groups ranging from string quartets to jazz combos and gypsy bands, studying and arranging world music for the likes of Yo-Yo Ma and the Kronos Quartet, and composing original music for film, TV, theatre and the concert stage.

Ljova is the author of more than 70 compositions for classical, jazz, and folk ensembles, as well as scores to two features and over a dozen short films. He is co-founder of Mediant Music, a new company specializing in music for advertising and media. Recently, Ljova was one of six composers invited to participate in the Sundance Institute's Film Composers Lab.

As an arranger, Ljova has completed dozens of musical arrangements for Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, the Kronos Quartet, Bond, Organized Rhythm, and others. Resulting from these collaborations are arrangements of musics from Azerbaijian, China, India, Iran, Japan, Russia, Tanzania, as well as gypsy music from Romania and France.

Ljova has recently completed his debut album, featuring original and traditional music, which is slated for release in early 2006 on Kapustnik Records. Previously, he has recorded with Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble on the bestselling Sony Classical CD "Silk Road Journeys: Beyond the Horizon", and with The Andalucian Dogs on the Deutsche Grammophon CD "Ayre", featuring the music of Luciano Berio and Osvaldo Golijov. In addition, Ljova has recorded two albums of improvised chamber music with saxophonist Assif Tsahar on Hopscotch Records, and three CDs with easy-listening pianist George Davidson on GDP. He has performed on tour with Savion Glover, and recorded with composer Ryuchi Sakamoto, producer Guy Sigsworth and the Electric Light Orchestra.

www.ljova.com