Ioan Harea, Violin

Biography

oan Harea, originally from Romania, arrived in Canada in 1986 via Venezuela where he was Associate Concertmaster of The Municipal Symphony Orchestra of Caracas, Venezuela from 1979-1986, as well as violin professor at the Emil Friedman School.

A brilliant and versatile violinist, Ioan Harea performs as soloist and as a chamber musician in Canada, the United States, Venezuela, Italy, France, Romania and Spain. Ioan Harea is the founder and leader of The Harea String Quartet and The Virtuosi Orchestra. He has performed for very distinguished audiences including Prime Ministers of Canada Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin, as well as George W Bush, Vicente Fox, Helmut Schroeder and Vladimir Putin.

Ioan Harea maintains a violin studio in Ottawa, is on the faculty of The Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam, New York and is a member of The Orchestra of Northern New York.

Ioan Harea has recorded 6 CDs: "Ballade" (violin and piano), "Classic Gypsy" (violin and symphony orchestra), "Sentimental Strings" (string quartet), "Versatility" (various instruments in "duo" with violin), Alegria and "Unaccompanied" (solo violin) all of which show the wide range of styles in which Ioan Harea performs. "Unaccompanied" was chosen by Richard Todd, arts critic for The Ottawa Citizen, as a 2005 "Best Buy" for classical recordings.

Ioan Harea is the featured artist on The Virtuosi Productions Concert Series at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa.