Mekhla Kumar is an Australian virtuoso pianist and chamber musician.

Early life and education

Mekhla Kumar was born in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, South Australia. She began studying piano at the age of four. After graduating from

Wilderness School , motto_translation = Always True , established = 1884 , type = Independent, day and boarding , denomination = Non-denominational , slogan = , principal ...

in 2007, Kumar gained a place at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

Elder Conservatorium of Music The Elder Conservatorium of Music, also known as "The Con", is Australia's senior academy of music and is located in the centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It is named in honour of its benefactor, Sir Thomas Elder. Dating in ...

, in the class of German-Australian Professor

Stefan Ammer Stefan Ammer (born 13 July 1942) is a German-Australian pianist, lecturer, teacher and professor of music. A former professor at Hochschule für Musik Freiburg in Germany, and currently at the Elder Conservatorium of Music in Australia. Biograp ...

, where she completed a

Bachelor of Music Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consists of pre ...

and graduated with distinction. At

Hochschule für Musik Freiburg ' (, plural: ') is the generic term in German for institutions of higher education, corresponding to ''universities'' and ''colleges'' in English. The term ''Universität'' (plural: ''Universitäten'') is reserved for institutions with the right to ...

, she studied under Tibor Szász. In 2016, Kumar was working on a PhD at the

on Franz Liszt's Sonata in B minor.

Career

Kumar has performed as a soloist with the Elder Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra and has participated in master classes with

Roy Howat Roy Howat (born 1951, Ayrshire, Scotland) is a Scottish pianist and musicologist, who specializes in French music. Howat has been Keyboard Research Fellow at the Royal Academy of Music in London since 2003, and Research Fellow at the Royal Con ...

Bart van Oort Bart van Oort (born June 6, 1959) is a Dutch classical pianist. Biography Van Oort was born in Utrecht. After completing his studies in modern piano in the Royal Conservatory of The Hague in 1983, he studied fortepiano there with Stanley Hoog ...

Leslie Howard Leslie Howard Steiner (3 April 18931 June 1943) was an English actor, director and producer.Obituary ''Variety'', 9 June 1943. He wrote many stories and articles for ''The New York Times'', ''The New Yorker'', and ''Vanity Fair'' and was one o ...

Imogen Cooper Dame Imogen Cooper, (born 28 August 1949) is an English pianist. Biography Cooper was born in North London, daughter of the musicologist Martin du Pré Cooper and Mary Stewart, artist. She grew up surrounded by music through her parents and ...

Bernd Glemser Bernd Glemser (born 1962, Dürbheim) is a German pianist. A student of Vitaly Margulis, in 1989 he became Germany's youngest piano professor at Saarbrücken's Musikhochschule. He has recorded major pieces by Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, Schumann, ...

, Claudio Martinez Mahner and Robert Hill, and played alongside

Marc-André Hamelin Marc-André Hamelin, OC, CQ (born September 5, 1961), is a Canadian virtuoso pianist and composer. Hamelin is recognized worldwide for the originality and technical proficiency of his performances of the classic repertoire. He has received 11 Gr ...

and

Konstantin Shamray Konstantin Shamray (born 27 May 1985, Novosibirsk, Soviet Union) is a Russian pianist. Shamray was born in Novosibirsk and began musical-schooling at the age of six in the Kemerovo Music School with Natalia Knobloch. From 1996 he continued his ...

. Kumar has performed in Germany and Australia, including live radio performances in Germany. Her performances include an arrangement made for her chamber music ensemble of Igor Stravinsky's ''

The Rite of Spring , image = Roerich Rite of Spring.jpg , image_size = 350px , caption = Concept design for act 1, part of Nicholas Roerich's designs for Diaghilev's 1913 production of ' , composer = Igor Stravinsky , based_on ...

'', the rarely performed ''Linea'' by

Luciano Berio Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition ''Sinfonia'' and his series of virtuosic solo pieces titled '' Sequenza''), and for his pioneering work ...

, a solo recital at the Bach Festival in Adelaide, a solo performance with the Adelaide Youth Orchestra, and a solo performance for the Posthumous Composer in Residence series at Elder Hall in Adelaide. In 2015, she collaborated with Estonian-born bassoon virtuoso, Martin Kuuskmann, and the Langbein Quartet at the Port Fairy Spring Music Festival and at Elder Hall in celebration of the centenary of

Scriabin Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin (; russian: Александр Николаевич Скрябин ; – ) was a Russian composer and virtuoso pianist. Before 1903, Scriabin was greatly influenced by the music of Frédéric Chopin and compos ...

's death, alongside

, Ashley Hribar, and master pianist,

Recognition and awards

Kumar has been a recipient of the Principal's Scholarship, the Patrick Cecil Greenland Scholarship, the EMR travelling Scholarship and was awarded the Rotary Club of Burnside's "Carpe Diem" Trust. Other awards and recognition include: *2012: "Emerging Artist Award" from the Elder Conservatorium and the Helpmann Academy *2012: Trant from the Ian Potter Cultural Trust * 2019 Geoffrey Parsons Award, Accompanists' Guild of South Australia

Personal life

In 2009, Kumar met

after a concert at the

Elder Conservatorium The Elder Conservatorium of Music, also known as "The Con", is Australia's senior academy of music and is located in the centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It is named in honour of its benefactor, Sir Thomas Elder. Dating in ...

, and they later began dating and became engaged to marry.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kumar, Mekhla Australian classical pianists Australian women pianists Musicians from Adelaide Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century classical pianists 21st-century women pianists