Pianist Ohad Ben-Ari, violinist Daniel Bard and cellist Hila Karni create a unique musical tapestry of exquisite sounds that expresses their extraordinary sensitivity, mature understanding and rich experience of music making.
In 2007, the Trio won first prize at the prestigious International Chamber Music Competition in Trieste, Italy, as well as receiving the Special Prize for their interpretation of a Brahms Trio and the "Young Award". In addition, they have won the audience prize at the 2008 Bologna Festival. Marcello Abbado, the noted Italian musician and composer dedicated a new work to the group, titled "Trio Mondrian".
Trio Mondrian performs regularly in Israel and Europe. Their first recording has been released with works by Brahms and Dvorak. In 2009 the trio has been awarded a fellowship from the Borletti-Buitoni Trust in London after being selected as one of the winners of the Trust for that year.
Ohad Ben-Ari's mastery of the keyboard led to many recitals and concerts around the globe. He played as a soloist, among many others, with Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Munich Opera Orchestra and the Schlezwig-Holstein Music festival Orchestra under the baton of Philippe Entremont, Mendi Rodan and Justus Frantz.
Born in Israel, Ohad entered the Tel Aviv University at the mere age of 13 to study piano with Pnina Salzman and composition with Josef Dorfman. At 16, Ohad moved to Germany, to finish his Studies at the Frankfurter Musikhochschule.
After winning top prizes at numerous international music competitions, including the coveted ARD Competition and the Arthur Rubinstein International Master Competition, Ohad has been touring all five continents as a pianist, playing and recording repertoire ranging from Classical to Jazz and Pop.
In 2006, Ohad has returned to his homeland of Israel to join the faculty of the Tel Aviv University as a chamber music specialist.
From early on, Israeli-Canadian violinist Daniel Bard discovered his passion for chamber music. In Canada, he was a member of the Metro String Quartet which collaborated with artists such as Menahem Pressler, Laurence Lesser, and Gilbert Kalish. He was also a member in chamber groups in Israel and Sweden. As a freelance musician Daniel is often invited to play chamber music concerts in Israel, Europe and North America, both as a violinist and as a violist.
Daniel studied in Toronto with David Zafer and Lorand Fenyves, at Yale University with Peter Oundjian from the Tokyo Quartet and at the Guildhall School in London with David Takeno.
Daniel has participated at festivals such as Prussia Cove, Ravinia's Steans Institute and Styriarte festival in Graz. He is the concertmaster of Sweden’s Camerata Nordica since 2003 and often plays in the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Amsterdam Sinfonietta and Seiler strings of Toronto. In 2007, he was invited by Tabea Zimmermann to guest lead Camerata Bern and will return there twice in the coming season. Daniel plays a 1631 Nicolo Amati violin generously on loan from Yehuda Zisapel. He made his solo debut with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra performing Waxman’s Carmen Fantasy.
Hila Karni was born in Tel Aviv in 1975 and started performing in the United States and Europe at a young age. Hila studied in the US with Bernard Greenhouse who describes her as “one of the most musically sensitive and technically exciting cellists of the younger generation” and later on with Prof. David Geringas in Lübeck and Berlin. Hila has made many festival appearances, among them Schleswig Holstein, Stresa and Ravinia. Her CD recording of Robert Volkmann’s concerto with the Hamburg Camerata was received with critical acclaim. Hila has performed in halls such as Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Megaron Hall Athen, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, Palais des Beaux Arts Brüssel, Kölner Philharmonie, Wigmore Hall London, Carnegie Hall NY, Konzerthaus Wien and played with Boris Pergamenschikow, Walter Boeykens, Ralf Gothoni, Bernard Greenhouse, Maxim Vengerov and the Scharoun Ensemble.