Atar Arad has received the university’s most prestigious appointment
Israeli-born violist, composer and pedagogue Atar Arad has been named distinguished professor at Indiana University Bloomington. Arad is a viola professor at the university’s Jacobs School of Music strings department.
The appointment of distinguished professor is the most prestigious appointment offered by the university. It honours faculty whose outstanding scholarship, and artistic or literacy distinction, have won significant recognition by peers. Three other Indiana University professors received the appointment. Arad is the only from the music school.
On social media, the Jacobs School of Music said of Arad’s recognition:
’We’re celebrating Professor Atar Arad on being named a Distinguished Professor—IU’s highest faculty honor! A world-renowned violist, composer, and educator, Professor Arad’s contributions to performance and composition have shaped the international music community. Well deserved!’
Arad won first prize at the 1972 Concours de Genève and has performed across the world as a soloist. He was also a member of the Cleveland Quartet for seven years. Alongside his role at the Jacobs School of Music, he teaches at Keshet Eilon in Israel, Domaine Forget in Canada, the Heifetz Institute and the Steans Music Institute, where he has served on the faculty since 1991.
In November 2018, Arad was a featured artist at the International Viola Congress in Rotterdam, where he premiered his new concerto for viola and strings. He is also a recipient of the 2018 American Viola Society’s Career Achievement Award and the International Viola Society’s 2018 Silver Alto Clef in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the viola.
As a composer, he has written for the 2008 Munich International Viola Competition, the Kremerate Baltica Orchestra, and the International Musicians Seminar’s concert tour with singer Mark Padmore.
Read: Joel Smirnoff joins the Jacobs School of Music string faculty
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