Talia Erdal wins Soloists’ Competition 2020
Fri 7 February 2020Postgraduate cellist claims the Prize after an outstanding final at Blackheath Halls
Director of Music Havilland Willshire, award-winning British composer and violist Sally Beamish, and pioneering Argentine pianist Daniel Rivera have crowned Talia Erdal the winner of Trinity Laban’s Soloists’ Competition 2020 following her breath-taking performance of Prokofiev’s Sinfonia Concertante in E minor, accompanied by Junior Fellow Aleksandra Myslek.
As the winner, Talia will get the chance to perform the work with Trinity Laban’s Symphony Orchestra later this year.
Talia commented –
“I am extremely happy and grateful to have been chosen as the winner of the 2020 competition. I love Prokofiev’s Sinfonia Concertante, and I look forward to playing this huge, monstrous and beautiful piece with a full-size orchestra. It is an extremely exciting opportunity.”
Jerusalem-born Talia is the former assistant principal cellist of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra (2017-19), former principal cellist of the Tel Aviv Soloists Ensemble (2016-17), and performs as a soloist with various ensembles in Israel including the Beer-Sheva Sinfonieta, Jerusalem Strings, and Tel-Aviv Soloists Ensemble. Talia often participates in community-oriented projects such as the Jerusalem Street Orchestra. Her playing has been broadcasted on German television, BBC Radio, and can be heard on the Israeli classical radio station Kol HaMusika.
Talia is also an active composer, arranger and singer, performing her own music in classical and non-classical venues and writing for theatre and dance. Her performance of original music in the play A Very Narrow Bridge (Chutzpah! Festival 2016, Vancouver, Canada) was nominated for a Jessie Richardson Award in the category “significant artistic achievement”.
She is currently studying with Sally Pendlebury, supported by Alan Niekirk and Trinity College London scholarships.
Competing alongside Talia in the final on 5 February were violinist Emma Arizza and percussionist Michael Blescun.
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Image L-R: Sally Beamish, Daniel Rivera, Talia Erdal, and Havilland Willshire (credit Fiona Moorhead)