Memorial concert Monday for Utah violist Boguslavsky

There will be a memorial concert/service Monday at 7:30 p.m. for former Utah Symphony violist Mikhail Boguslavsky, who passed away March 17 at the age of 79. The memorial will take place in the auditorium of the Utah Museum of Fine Arts.

Boguslavsky was a member of the Utah Symphony's viola section from 1980 until his retirement in 1999.

Born in Ukraine in 1926, Boguslavsky began his musical training at the age of 6. After World War II, he studied at the Moscow Conservatory and after graduating became the principal violist in the Moscow Radio Symphony and the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra.

A few years later, he and conductor Rudolph Barshai founded the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, where he served as managing director.

In 1978, Boguslavsky immigrated to the United States with his wife and son. He became the principal violist with the New Jersey Symphony and also played with the American Symphony Orchestra, the Mostly Mozart Festival and the Brooklyn Symphony. The family moved to Utah two years later, where he joined the Utah Symphony.

Boguslavsky was a member of the orchestra for 19 years. He also taught at the University of Utah until his death.