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Mikhail Misha Galaganov

Mikhail Misha Galaganov

Professor & Division Chair of Strings

817-257-6619 Ed Landreth Hall 124 (map link)

Program Affiliations

College of Fine ArtsMusic

Education

Rice University, DMA in Viola Performance
Rice University, MM in Viola Performance
Southern Methodist University, Artist Certificate in Viola Performance
Academy of Music and Dance, Jerusalem, Israel, BM in Viola Performance
Min Vody Music College, Russia, Violin Performance and Teaching Certification

Areas of Focus

Audition and competition preparation
New Music repertoire, including commissioning and promoting pieces by underrepresented composers
Technique, including studies of various exercises, caprices, etudes, and scales, and musicality
Viola and violin concert repertoire
Chamber Music
Performance Practice styles and techniques

Courses Taught

Viola
Chamber Music
New Music Ensemble
Collegium Musicum
Violin
String Performance Pedagogy

Dr. Mikhail ‘Misha’ Galaganov is a Professor of Viola and the Chair of Strings at Texas Christian University (TCU). As a soloist and chamber musician he has premiered more than thirty compositions for viola alone, viola with piano, and viola in chamber music, written for him by composers from Israel, Russia, Mexico, Peru, Belgium, Italy, Uruguay, and the USA. He also premiered his own arrangement of the 12 Fantasies for Bass Viol by Georg Philipp Telemann on viola – the first live performance of all Bass Viola Fantasies on viola in one concert! (A commercial album recording of the pieces is now available from PARMA). As Principal Viola of the Dallas Chamber Symphony, Galaganov has premiered several pieces written for a small symphony orchestra and for string chamber ensembles.
 

Galaganov is the founder of numerous chamber music programs. He coordinates New Music Ensemble (NME) program at TCU and is the founder of the “NME at the Modern Arts Museum” concert series.

Teaching duties have taken Galaganov to major conservatories around the world, and, most recently, he taught all graduate viola students at the University of Texas (UT) in Austin – stepping in for Roger Myers in the second half of the spring semester 2024.

Galaganov has taught and performed in numerous European and American Festivals. His former viola and violin students can be found as principal players in orchestras, university teachers, soloists and chamber music performers.

In addition to teaching and performing, Galaganov has written articles and reviews for Strad magazine, has served as a reviewer for American String Teachers Association magazine, and has given lectures and presentations at professional conferences. He is working on several research projects and has made transcriptions and arrangements. His last album, Charm, Passion, and Acrobatics was received with enthusiastic critical acclaim.

Galaganov has a violin performance degree from Russia; BM in Viola Performance from Israel; and Artist Certificate, MM, and DMA degrees from the USA. His teachers include Pavel Galaganov (his father), Mikhail Kugel, Barbara Sudweeks, Martha Katz, and Wayne Brooks. Galaganov plays on an old unique French viola by Mansuy a Paris with gut strings by Damian Dlugolecki.

  • Solo and chamber music performances around the world
  • WORLD PREMIERE of all Telemann’s Fantasies for Bass Viol on Viola in a live recital: September 2023
  • Master classes and lectures in major universities around the world
  • International festivals
  • Articles and reviews in STRAD and in other string publications
  • Transcriptions for viola of music by Paganini, Tartini, and Telemann
  • Presentations at American Viola Society festivals
  • Video series on best viola etudes, and others

Sheet Music Transcription of Telemann Fantasies for Bass Viol for Viola – Bärenreiter Verlag (scheduled for 2025)

SOUND ALBUM: Viola Fantasies – Georg Philipp Telemann Fantasies for Bass Viol (1735), First Recording on Viola

Book review: Bach Six Suites for Violoncello solo (BWV1007–12) arranged for viola solo: STRAD, April 2024

FEATURED ARTICLE: Telemann’s Viol Fantaisies on the viola: STRAD, November 2023

SOUND ALBUM: Charm, Passion, and Acrobatics: music for viola and piano by Chausson, Inghelbreght, and Kinc

FEATURED ARTICLE: Yuri Kramarov: A legacy regained: STRAD, September 2022

TECHIQUE ARTICLE: Trills and embellishments: How to develop finger strength and control for even, well-articulated ornaments: STRAD, October 2021

TECHNIQUE ARTICLE: A 30-minute routine to keep your playing on top form: STRAD, February 2020

Sonata Devil Trills by Tartini, arranged for viola with 2nd viola accompaniment from the original publication for violin and cello: IMSLP

Sonata for Viola and Piano by Pierre Kunc, co-editor: IMSLP

SOUND ALBUM: A Musical Celebration: Trio Con Brio performing music by Ewazen and Sokolovsky

SOUND ALBUM: Chiaroscuro: music by Richard Lavenda

  • American Viola Society
  • Chamber Music Society
  • Music College Society
  • Chamber Music America
  • American String Teachers Association

Last Updated: December 01, 2025

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