13-year-old cello virtuoso to perform in San Diego

By Eileen Wingard

Eileen Wingard

SAN DIEGO — Fresh from winning gold medals in two major international music competitions, the 13-year-old Israeli cellist, Nahar Eliaz, will be coming to San Diego for a recital Saturday evening, March 7, 7:30 p.m. at Congregation Beth Am, 5050 Del Mar Heights Rd., San Diego, California, 92130.

The prodigious young talent received the grand prize in the London virtuoso competition which will lead to a performance at the Elgar Room at the Royal Albert Hall in London on April 14 of this year.  She also received two top prizes earlier this month from the Vienna Music Competition. In this contest, Nahar garnered the gold medal in the Strings-Young Artist division, and the Beethoven Centenary Award for the most outstanding performance of a work by the great composer.  Beethoven’s 250th birthday is being celebrated throughout the world.

For her recital at Congregation Beth Am, Nahar and her collaborative pianist, Tal Haim Samnon, will perform music by Bach, Beethoven, Bloch, Bruch and Grieg.

Nahar’s development has been strongly supported by scholarships from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation.

The young virtuoso was born in Savyon, Israel. She is a student of Professor Hillel Zori, of the Tel Aviv Music Academy. She has also attended masterclasses taught by some of the great cello teachers such as Laurence Lesser, Tbea Zimmermann, and Andras Diaz. Nahar Eliaz has performed on radio and on TV, including on National Public Radio’s From the Top.

July Galper, who has been facilitating the performances of AICF winners in San Diego for several decades, is responsible for bringing the young Israeli artist to San Diego.

Tickets at $48 will include a special dessert reception. Call 619-823-9208 to reserve your seat. Pre-registration is required for security reasons.

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Eileen Wingard is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts. She may be contacted via eileen.wingard@sdjewishworld.com