Ofra Harnoy

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Ofra Harnoy (born January 31, 1965, Hadera, Israel) is a Canadian cellist.

She moved with her family to Toronto in 1971. When she was six, she began cello lessons with her father, Jacob Harnoy. Her teachers include Vladimir Orloff, William Pleeth, Pierre Fournier, Jacqueline du Pré, and Mstislav Rostropovich.

Harnoy made her professional debut as a soloist with orchestra at age ten. Her solo-orchestral and recital debuts at Carnegie Hall in 1982 brought her public and critical acclaim.

She performed and recorded the world premier of the Offenbach Cello Concerto in 1983 and the North American premiere of the Bliss Cello Concerto in 1984. She also made the world premier recordings of several Vivaldi concertos. In 1987 Harnoy joined the roster of RCA Victor Red Seal, and recorded several best selling albums.

Harnoy is noted for her somewhat glamorous image and fashion model looks, which have often been played up in order to promote her music. In this respect, she is considered a forerunner of the more glamorous style of classical music performer that emerged in the 1990s such as violinist Vanessa-Mae and string quartet bond.

[edit] Awards

winner of a number of major Canadian competitions
1982 Concert Artists Guild award in New York
1983 Young Musician of the Year by Musical America Magazine
both 1987 and 1988 Juno Awards for Best Classical Album
1990, 1992, 1993 Juno Awards for Instrumental Artist of the Year
1988 Grand Prix du Disque
several “Best of the Year” and “Critic’s Choice” awards for her recordings from Gramophone magazine, High Fidelity magazine and Ovation magazine.
in 1995 she was made a Member of the Order of Canada