Cellist Inbal Megiddo has performed as soloist with many of the great orchestras and in major concert halls around the world, including recitals at the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, and the Staatsoper in Berlin, and concerto performances with the Berlin Symphony at the Philharmonie. Maestro Zubin Mehta describes her as “an extremely talented, very musical musician.” At her New York debut at the Lincoln Center her playing was hailed by the press as having “magical expression and technical expertise.” She has a “warm lustrous communicative way... the performance was sincerity personified!”
Recent recorded releases include a recording of the complete Bach Cello Suites and Debussy's Sonatas and Trio for Atoll and Naxos, which were nominated for Best Classical Album at the NZ Music Awards, and a recording of Beethoven’s complete works for cello and piano for Rattle Records released to critical acclaim. Dr Megiddo gave the NZ premieres of the Weinberg, Villa Lobos, and Barber Cello Concertos, with her playing described as “Superb!...Virtuosic, brilliant and powerful”. Radio and television appearances include performances on WQXR, NPR (US), Kol Hamuzika (Israel), RNZ, and German radio and television. Other recent highlights include solo performances with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Bournemouth Symphony, Ukraine Philharmonic, Lithuanian Philharmonic, and Israel Chamber Orchestra, collaborations with preeminent conductors including Daniel Barenboim, Shlomo Mintz, and Lior Shambadal, and concert tours throughout Europe, North America, and Asia. A proponent of new music, she has collaborated with, premiered, and recorded the works of several leading composers, among them Jan Radzynski’s Cello Concerto in New York, and works by Laurence Sherr, Lori Laitman, Ross Harris, Michael Williams, and John Psathas.
Inbal Megiddo began her cello studies at the age of two, and gave her first performances a year later. She holds graduate and undergraduate degrees from Yale University where she studied with and was assistant to renowned cellist, Aldo Parisot. An avid chamber musician, Dr Megiddo is a founding member of the Te Koki Trio, and has collaborated with musicians including Erick Friedman, Jesse Levin, Ben Verdery, Peter Oundjian, Boris Berman, Peter Frankl, Claude Frank, Jennifer Stumm, and the Tokyo String Quartet. She has held the position of principal and guest principal cellist with the West Eastern Divan Symphony Orchestra under Daniel Barenboim, as well as Orchestra Wellington, and the Bridgeport, Waterbury Symphony Orchestras .
In high demand as a teacher, Dr Megiddo is Associate Professor in Cello at the New Zealand School of Music. She has held faculty positions at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and Yale University, and has been guest artist at festivals including the International Cello Congress in Japan and Israel, Beijing International Chamber Music Festival and the Dublin and Melbourne Cello Festivals. She has given masterclasses at institutions around the world, including many of the major music schools in North America, Europe, Israel, and Australasia and is founder and director of the Cellophonia International Festival in Wellington.
Dr. Megiddo performs on a rare Fiorini cello, and was awarded use of a Stradivarius cello on loan by the Stradivari Society.