Professor Emeritus

In 2011, after twenty five successful years of teaching, upon his retirement from the University of Illinois, Mr. Lupu was awarded the title of Professor Emeritus. That same year he also became President of the “George Enescu Society of the US”.

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Mr.Lupu has been teaching at the University of Illinois for twenty five years before retiring in 2011 and he was also artistic director of the Gubbio Festival in Italy and associate concertmaster of the San Francisco Opera.

Appearing frequently as soloist in Europe and the United States, Lupu has also performed the complete cycle of Beethoven Sonatas with Menahem Pressler.
Mr. Lupu specializes in the music of his native Romania and Eastern Europe as well as the virtuoso romantic repertoire. 

Lupu has won ...

a lot of prizes such as: Vienna International, Romanian National String Quartet, Jacques Thibaud in Paris, Carl Flesch in London, Royal Society of Arts, and the Park Lane Group Contest. Subsequently Lupu came to the United States to study with Dorothy De Lay and, at Indiana University, with Josef Gingold and receive chamber music coaching from Menahem Pressler.


Solo appearances

include The Kennedy Center, Gstaad Festival, Aldeburgh Festival, Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elisabeth Hall, Wigmore Hall, St. John's Smith Square and Carnegie Hall. He has also performed the Brahms and Tchaikovsky violin concertos in live broadcasts with the BBC Orchestra and has appeared as soloist with the Northern Israeli Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Lupu has collaborated with conductors such as Mendi Rodan, Sir Charles Grove, Harry Blech, Cristian Mandeal, Barry Wadsworth, Owain Arwell Hughes,Ian Hobson,Kirk Trevor and Horia Andreescu among others. Sherban Lupu recorded works by Ysaÿe, Bartók, Enescu, Wieniawski, Ernst, Stravinsky,Bloch and Ginastera for the ASV, Arabesque, Continuum, Electrecord,Capstone, Zephyr, Toccata Classics labels, the BBC and he has also released the recording of the Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin by J.S.Bach. In 2011 Mr. Lupu has released to great critical acclaim the first two CD volumes of the complete works by H.W.Ernst.

In collaboration with the composer Cornel Taranu, Mr. Lupu has finished and reconstructed the "Caprice Roumain" for violin and orchestra by George Enescu. That work, performed by Mr. Lupu in a special concert at the World Exhibition 2000 in Hannover (Germany) is included in the CD recording of the complete music for violin by George Enescu, which he has made in collaboration with Valentin Gheorghiu and the Bucharest Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Cristian Mandeal for the Electrecord label.

In the year 2000, Mr. Lupu received a lifetime achievement award from the Romanian Cultural Foundation for his efforts to promote Romanian culture and music internationally.
Much in demand as a pedagogue, Mr. Lupu is a frequent member of international juries, has given numerous masterclasses and taught violin courses in England, Holland, Germany, Italy, Romania, Czech Republic and Poland where in July 2004 he received from the Ministry of Culture the Award for Outstanding Teaching.

In May 2002 Sherban Lupu has been given the prestigious "Arnold Beckman" Award from the Research Board of the University of Illinois towards the recording of the complete works for violin and piano by Bela Bartók.
In November 2002 Mr. Lupu was awarded the title of Doctor Honoris Causa by the Academy of Music "G. Dima" from Cluj (Romania) and in January 2004 the President of Romania has conferred upon Sherban Lupu the title of Commander of the National Order of Merit and Service for his worldwide musical and cultural activities.

Since 2002 Mr. Lupu is the Artistic Director of the International Festival "The Musical Citadel of Brasov", Romania.

In September 2005 Sherban Lupu organized the American premiere of the Opera "Oedipus" by George Enescu at the University of Illinois and the Symposium "Oedipus Myth and Its Interpretation"
Also, in September 2005, together with the Romanian Cultural Institute Mr. Lupu has published six volumes of previously unknown works for violin by George Enescu. The works were discovered, edited, and aranged by Sherban Lupu.

For the academic year 2005-2006 Sherban Lupu has been appointed as Associate of the Center for Advanced Studies at University of Illinois. He is currently President and Artistic Director of the "Gerge Enescu Society of the United States".

In 2007 Sherban Lupu received again the prestigious "Arnold Beckman" Award from the Research Board of the University of Illinois and was awarded the title of Doctor Honoris causa from the Al. I. Cuza University of Iasi, Romania.

For the academic year 2009/2010 Mr. Lupu was a Fulbright Senior Scholar and also a recipient of the College of Fine and Applied Arts Creative Research Award at the University of Illinois.


In 2011 Mr. Lupu was awarded the title of Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois.