Danielle Akta
Danielle Akta
Born in 2002 to a family of musicians, Danielle was drawn to the cello at the age of four, after listening to a recording of Jacqueline du Pré.
She began her cello studies at her own request at the Raanana Music Conservatory (RMC) with Galina Aaronovitch and Luba Rabin.
A soloist from an early age, Danielle Akta has performed with The Moscow Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra & Vladimir Spivakov, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, National Philharmonic of Russia, Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, Georgian Chamber Orchestra Ingolstadt, Vadim Repin & The Novosibirsk Philharmonic Orchestra, a tour of the US with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra IBA, Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon LeZion, Israel Netanya Kibbutz Orchestra, Tel Aviv Soloists Ensemble, Israel Sinfonietta Beer-Sheva, Ashdod Symphony Orchestra and recitals at AIPAC Conference 2016 in Washington D.C.
Danielle has been invited to perform as a soloist on some of the world’s most prestigious stages: Carnegie Hall Stern Auditorium (NY), Tchaikovsky Concert Hall (Moscow), The Barbican (London), Lincoln Center (NY), Symphony Center (Chicago), Roy Thomson Hall (Canada) and many more.
She has participated in many festivals, including the Verbier Festival Academy 2016, the Colmar International Festival 2017, ‘Kol Hamusica’ Spring Festival 2017, Trans-Siberian Art Festival 2016 (Novosibirsk, Israel), Cherry Orchard Festival concert tour 2017 (USA), and Lublin Festival.
Danielle is a grant-holder of the Vladimir Spivakov International Charity Foundation, recipient of the “Oleg Yankovsky prize – Artistic Discovery of 2015-2016” – the Young Artist Award for young promising artists – awarded by Maestro Vladimir Spivakov. She was named among the Top 10 classical music performers in 2016 by The Daily Gazette and Critic’s Choice 2016 in Classical music by the ‘Times Union’.
A recipient of the America-Israel Cultural Foundation scholarships with distinction ‘the Wolfgang Laufer Memorial Cello Scholarship for Outstanding Merit’, she performed at the AICF 75th Anniversary Gala event, hosted by Itzhak Perlman at the Lincoln Center, New York, and was also awarded the Zfunot Tarbut scholarship for Outstanding Young Musician.
Danielle is a winner of the Flame Int. Competition (Paris, 2014), The Muse International Music Competition (Athens, 2014 & 2015) and the Israeli National Cello Competition 2013. She has been a student of Prof. Frans Helmerson at the Barenboim-Said Music Akademie in Berlin since 2015.
Danielle participated in masterclasses with Laurence Lesser, Torleif Thedeen, Pamela Frank, Gábor Takács-Nagy, Maria Tchaikovskia, Raphael Wallfisch, Ralph Kirshbaum, Gary Hoffman, Evangeline Benedetti, Raphaël Pidoux and Paul Katz.
Danielle plays an Enrico Orselli cello, built in Pesaro around 1925/1930 by the master Italian luthier and student of Ettore Soffritti, and a Claude Thomassin bow built in Paris around 1900/1920. These exceptional instruments were graciously put at Danielle’s disposal by Dr. Moshe Kantor through the Vladimir Spivakov International Charity Foundation.