Page 4 - David Obelkevich

David
Obelkevi
Achieving more than 50 years of considerable talent and experience, he
began his career as a teacher in New Jersey from 1968 to 1970. Afterward,
from 1970 to 1996, Mr. Obelkevich served the NYC Department of Education as an
orchestral music instructor at George Westinghouse Career and Technical
Education High School in Downtown Brooklyn. Prior to his teaching
career, he received a Bachelor of Arts in Music at Columbia College
in 1965 and a Master of Arts in Music Education from Columbia University’s Teachers College in
1967.
In April 1965, Mr. Obelkevich was invited to join the Horace
Mann school orchestra in rehearsals and a
performance of Faure’s “Requiem” in the
Bronx. They invited Leopold Stokowski
to conduct, making an
incredible experience for Mr. Obelkevich. In July 2002, Mr. Obelkevich became
the first western musician to play in an orchestra in Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia. Looking back on his career path, he attributes his immense success to the simple fact that he loves music and loves to help people. Performing music has given him great joy, and to have other people perform under his leadership has been especially rewarding throughout his life.
Outside of his musical career, Mr. Obelkevich is an avid runner, having completed 112 marathons in the U.S., England, Australia, and Japan. He finished a record-number 44 out of 49 New York City Marathons since 1970 and holds
the distinction of Champion Streaker due to his high number of consecutively completed marathons. The Comrades Marathon, which has been going since 1921, acknowledged Mr. Obelkevich
as the first American to earn a
“green number” due to his impressive 10 finishes.
Additionally, he and his wife have ventured on a 56-day pedal
bicycle trip across the continental U.S. They
only took 10 days off, notably biking from 8 a.m.
to 4 p.m. each day. In five years’ time, Mr. Obelkevich aims to continue running and parlaying his love of music to
others.
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