Mekhla Kumar

Born in Adelaide, South Australia, after graduating from Wilderness School, in 2007, Mekhla gained a place at the University of Adelaide's Elder Conservatorium of Music, in the class of German-Australian Professor Stefan Ammer, where she completed a Bachelor of Music and graduated with distinction.[3] Following this, she undertook Honours, achieving first class. In 2013, under the tutelage of Tibor Szász at Hochschule für Musik Freiburg, she achieved a rare 100 percent for her Master’s degree. In 2014 she achieved another perfect score for the postgraduate Advanced Studies course.[4][5]

Kumar has been a recipient of the Principal's Scholarship, the Patrick Cecil Greenland Scholarship, the EMR travelling Scholarship and was awarded the Rotary Club of Burnside's "Carpe Diem" Trust. In 2012 she received the "Emerging Artist Award" from the Elder Conservatorium and the Helpmann Academy and was awarded a grant from the Ian Potter Cultural Trust.[6][7][8]

Kumar has performed as a soloist with the Elder Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra and has participated in master classes with Roy Howat, Bart van Oort, Leslie Howard, Imogen Cooper, Bernd Glemser, Claudio Martinez Mahner and Robert Hill, and played alongside Marc-André Hamelin.[9][10][11]

Mekhla performs throughout Germany and Australia and has broadcast live for German radio stations. Recent performance highlights include the premiere of an arrangement made especially for Mekhla's chamber music ensemble of Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring for two pianos and percussion, concert performances throughout Germany of the rarely performed Linea for two pianos, vibraphone and marimba by Luciano Berio and a solo recital at the Bach Festival in Adelaide.[12][13][14]

Highlights for 2015 included collaborating with Grammy nominated Estonian-born bassoon virtuoso, Martin Kuuskmann, the Langbein Quartet premiering Invocation by Jakub Jankowski, performing ten Scriabin sonatas at the Port Fairy Spring Music Festival and at Elder Hall in celebration of the centenary of Scriabin's death, alongside Konstantin Shamray, Ashley Hribar, and master pianist, Stefan Ammer.[15]

Mekhla is currently completing a PhD at the University of Adelaide on Franz Liszt's Sonata in B minor.[16]