Ina Zdorovetchi
Hailed as one of the most acclaimed harp virtuosos of her generation, Ina Zdorovetchi has performed concerts in major music centers in Europe, North America and the Middle East. In addition to championing major traditional works she has continually treated her audiences to new and innovative repertoire, from solo to chamber music and orchestral works. She also uses her particular interest in new music to promote awareness about the harp’s wonderful potential as a solo instrument having inspired composers to write several works dedicated to her, such as “... bisbigliando...,” a harp concerto by Thomas Oboe Lee, and the Double Concerto for Cello and Harp, after Kandinsky by Geoffrey Gordon.
As a soloist, Zdorovetchi has appeared with the symphony orchestras of Jerusalem, Haifa, Brockton, Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), Moldova National Radio Orchestra and Moldova National Philharmonic, as well as the chamber orchestras of Seattle, Boston University, Bucharest University and the Republic of Moldova, having been described as “The Harp Whisperer,” “hypnotizing,” “a local pride” and “an example of the American Dream.” An avid chamber musician, she also performed in Carnegie Hall and other major venues alongside members of the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO), Israel Philharmonic, Cincinnati Symphony, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, Academy of Saint Martin in the Fields, Dawn Upshaw, Osvaldo Golijov, David Krakauer, Nathalie Merchant and other acclaimed musicians. Most recently, she was featured in a recital at the 2011 World Harp Congress (Vancouver, Canada) and was one of the soloists in the Gala Concert at the 2010 American Harp Society National Conference sharing the evening with legendary harpists Jana Bouskova and Alice Giles.
The honors given to Zdorovetchi for her talent and extraordinary performances are numerous and include winning the top prize, the chamber music award and the Propes prize at the 17th International Harp Contest in Israel (the world’s most prestigious harp competition), first prize at the Bucharest International Competition, second prize at the Paris International Harp Competition, the Outstanding Achievement in Chamber Music award from the Fischoff National Competition and the Henry Cabot Award from the Boston Symphony Orchestra Players’ Committee, to name a few.
Her debut solo album, Un Sospiro (featuring some of the greatest staples in the harp repertoire), has been released to enthusiastic critical acclaim and demonstrates her profound interest in both original works and transcriptions for her instrument as well as celebrating composers past and contemporary. Ina Zdorovetchi has also recorded solo and chamber music for Sony, Naxos, Albany Records, BMOP/Sound and BSO labels, frequently performs live recitals on WGBH Radio Boston (99.5 FM) and has sustained full live concert broadcasts on Moldova National TV.
Zdorovetchi is the principal harpist of the Boston Lyric Opera (BLO) and Opera Boston. She is the founder and artistic director of the Boston Harp Festival and devotes much of her time to teaching at The Boston Conservatory, Wellesley College and the New England Conservatory (NEC), as well as giving masterclasses at Indiana University (South Bend), American Harp Society (Washington, DC), American Harp Society-Central New York, Bolivar Youth Orchestra-Venezuela and more. Her students have been featured at the World Harp Congress and won top prizes and awards at competitions internationally.
Zdorovetchi holds degrees from the New England Conservatory (Performance Diploma), Boston University (M.M.), The Boston Conservatory (B.M., summa cum laude) and the National University of Music in Bucharest (B.M.), Romania, having studied with Ann Hobson Pilot, Cynthia Price-Glynn and Ion Ivan-Roncea. An alumna of the Tanglewood Music Center ('03, '04), Zdorovetchi is an elected member of Pi Kappa Lambda, The National Music Honor Society, and served as president of the American Harp Society Boston Chapter from 2006–2009. Zdorovetchi is the bearer of the U.S. government-awarded title of Alien with Extraordinary Abilities in the Arts.
