Pianist Avner Arad was awarded First Prizes at the National Shumsky Competition, the Koussevitsky Memorial Competition and the Young Keyboard Artists Association International Piano Competition.  In addition, he was honored with the Sharett Scholarship from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation, was twice the recipient of The Juilliard School’s Gina Bachauer Prize, and was awarded Carnegie Hall’s Distinctive Debuts Award. Arad has appeared as a soloist and collaborative artist throughout Europe, including performances at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels, Konzerthaus in Vienna, Kolner Philharmonie in Cologne, Athens Concert Hall in Athens and Symphony Hall in Birmingham.  In the U.S., he performs frequently in New York, including concerts at Lincoln Center and at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.  Born in Israel, Avner Arad began his musical studies in his native country.  At the age of thirteen, he came to the U.S. to work with Barry Snyder at the Eastman School of Music.  He then attended the Curtis Institute as a student of Seymour Lipkin, and The Juilliard School as a student of Emanuel Ax and Rudolf Firkusny.