The artistic director and chief conductor is Igor Yezhov, the Honoured Artist of Russia.
In 1989, he graduated with honors from the military-conducting faculty of the Moscow State Conservatory named after P.I. Tchaikovsky, majoring in "organization of military-orchestral service, conducting orchestras, and leading ensembles." After graduating from the conservatory, he served in the Western Group of Forces in Germany as the military conductor of an artillery brigade, then led a divisional orchestra in Chebarkul.
The Ural Wind Orchestra of the Chelyabinsk State Philharmonia under the direction of Igor Yezhov was established in March 2011.
The orchestra was founded on the base of the wind orchestra of the Chelyabinsk Higher Military Automobile Command and Engineering School, which was created in 1944 and was conducted by I.A. Yezhov since 1993. Under his leadership, the orchestra became not only a leader in Ural but also one of the best in Russia and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The orchestra took first place in competitions of staff military wind orchestras of the Red-Bannered Ural Military District nineteen times.
The present-day orchestra consists of 50 musicians under the direction of I.A. Yezhov. It carefully preserves and enhances professional and musical-educational traditions, remaining an integral part of the culture of South Ural. It is impossible to imagine city and regional celebrations, Victory Day parades, sports festivals, and significant dates in the life of Chelyabinsk and the Chelyabinsk Region without the orchestra participating. The orchestra frequently performs at open concert venues in the city and the Chelyabinsk Region. The citizens of Chelyabinsk are fond of the orchestra, and its concerts are always interesting to listeners of all generations. The orchestra enjoys great popularity among veterans of the Great Patriotic War, veterans of the Armed Forces, and veterans of the home front.
The orchestra’s repertoire includes works by Russian and foreign composers, the best examples of popular music, rock, and jazz. Significant creative achievements have been made by the orchestra in its status as a philharmonic ensemble. The orchestra actively performs on stages in Chelyabinsk, as well as in cities and districts of the Chelyabinsk Region. In 2018 – 2023 alone, the orchestra gave over 200 concerts.
The orchestra collaborates with leading Russian vocalists and instrumentalists such as Sergey Mazaev (vocals, Moscow), Vladislav Kosarev (vocals, Moscow), Igor Fedorov (clarinet, Moscow), Fyodor Shagov (tuba, Moscow), Veniamin Myasoedov (multi-instrumentalist, Moscow), Alexander Pavlov (conductor and artistic director of the Uralband orchestra, Yekaterinburg), and Arkady Shilkloper (French horn, Germany).
Concert programs like Classics Without Codex, A Star Called Sun, Music of Video Games, Eternal Love, From the Reed Pipe to the Bagpipes, All That I Have in Life, as well as children's concerts like Pirates of the Musical Sea, In Search of Musical Treasures, and In the Kingdom of Percussion, the State of Drums enjoy great success.
Currently, the Ural Wind Orchestra is the only professional wind orchestra in South Ural and rightfully considered a model ensemble in its genre. It is distinguished by high technical skill, cohesion, mastery of all achievements of modern wind music, and a drive for new creative accomplishments.
The soloists of the orchestra include laureates of all-Russian and international competitions: Alyona Miropolskaya (percussion), Mikhail Belik (clarinet), Anastasia Polumogina (alto saxophone), Ilya Lushnikov (trumpet), and others.