Israeli pianist Asaf Zohar will perform a free concert at Drake University as part of the Keys to Excellence series. The program includes works by Mozart and Tchaikovsky and begins at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22, in Sheslow Auditorium, 2507 University Ave.
Zohar will be joined by Nicholas Roth, Drake University associate professor of piano, to perform Fantasie in F Minor, D. 940 for Four Hands by Franz Schubert. No tickets are required for this free event.
Zohar will also present a public masterclass for Drake piano students at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21, at 2pm in Sheslow Auditorium.
Born in Israel, Zohar is one of the country’s most active pianists and pedagogues. He is a graduate of the Givatayim Conservatory and The Rubin Academy of Music in Tel Aviv and he received his doctorate from the Indiana University School of Music, where he was also a visiting lecturer.
His teachers include Hana Shalgi, Arie Vardi, Menahem Pressler, Leonard Hokanson and Michel Block. He performed in masterclasses by Arthur Rubinstein, Alfred Brendel, Christoph Eschenbach, Eugene Istomin, Leon Fleisher and Claude Frank.
He has performed under the batons of Zubin Mehta, Gary Bertini, David Robertson, Mendi Rodan, Noam Sheriff, David Shalon, Jan Pascal Tortelier, Urs Schneider and others. Zohar appeared in numerous recitals in Israel. Abroad, he has performed concerts and recitals in the U.S.A, Austria, Germany, France, Great Britain, Spain, Italy, Russia, Georgia, South Africa, Australia and Japan.
Zohar teaches as a Professor for Piano at The Buchmann-Mehta School of Music at The Tel-Aviv University, as well as at The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance where he has served as chairman of the keyboard department and dean of the faculty of performing arts for ten executive years. In addition, Mr. Zohar teaches at the Givatayim Conservatory, as well as in The Jerusalem Music Center.
The Keys to Excellence concert series was created to raise awareness of Drake’s fundraising efforts for the purpose of 70 brand new Yamaha pianos for the music department. It brings internationally acclaimed artists to perform on the Yamaha CFX concert grand at Drake University.
The event is sponsored by Yamaha, West Music, Civic Music Association, and Drake University. For more information, contact Nicholas Roth at 515-321-5947 or Nicholas.Roth@Drake.edu.