Praised for her “seductive artistry” and “rare grace” (Classical Voice North America), violinist Clara Neubauer is establishing herself as a deeply expressive and authentic artist. She is a recipient of the Kovner Fellowship from the Juilliard School as well as winner of the Peter Mennin Prize for Outstanding Achievement and Leadership in Music. Clara received the Ana Chumachenco Award at the Kronberg Academy Masterclasses and was chosen to perform as soloist with the Württemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn. Clara received her BM from The Juilliard School as a student of Li Lin and Itzhak Perlman, and is currently pursuing her MM as a student of Catherine Cho and Itzhak Perlman.
Clara has appeared at festivals across North America including the Marlboro Music Festival, Ravinia Festival, Taos School of Music, Four Seasons Winter Workshop, Music From Angel Fire, Perlman Music Program, Music@Menlo, and Olympic Music Festival.
Highlights of this upcoming season include appearances with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Tippet Rise Art Center, Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players, Four Seasons Festival, and Perlman Music Program. Clara has collaborated with artists including Mitsuko Uchida, Christoph Richter, Don Weilerstein, Alexi Kenney, Frans Helmerson, Misha Amory, Nina Lee, Daniel Phillips, and the Dover Quartet.
“lovely, heart-tugging sound distinguished by sylvan highs.”
- CLASSICAL VOICE NORTH AMERICA
Winner and recipient of the silver medal at the National YoungArts competition, Clara has appeared as soloist with the Symphony of Westchester, the National Repertory Orchestra, the New York Concerti Sinfonietta, the Little Orchestra Society, Ensemble 212, and the Juilliard Pre-College Orchestra. She has additionally won top prizes at the Adelphi Competition, the Symphony of Westchester Young Artist Competition, Ensemble 212 Young Artist Competition, and the Young Musicians Competition at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
Clara was a Musical Ambassador for the Doublestop Foundation as winner of their Artist in You Competition and was featured on WQXR as part of their Young Musicians Showcase with her brother, Oliver. She was a Young Performer at the Music@Menlo Chamber Music Institute for five years and was recently chosen as one of five young artists featured at the chamber music fellowship program of the Olympic Music Festival. She has served as concertmaster of the New York Concerti Sinfonietta and recently performed in a side-by-side concert at David Geffen Hall, featuring members of the New York Philharmonic alongside students at The Juilliard School.
Growing up in a family of professional musicians, Clara’s love for music - chamber music in particular - began from a very early age.
Her first experience with chamber music was playing duos with her older brother at the ages of 5 and 7, something which they joyfully continued for the following 16 years (and many more to come!). She is part of the Neubauer/McDermott Family Quartet, composed of herself, her brother Oliver, and her parents, Kerry McDermott and Paul Neubauer.
Clara is also a founding member of the Tobias Quartet - composed of herself, Oliver Neubauer, Samuel Rosenthal, and Sterling Elliott. The Tobias Quartet was the ensemble in residence at Music From Angel Fire for two summers, where they traveled around northern New Mexico presenting educational programs to K-12 students and sharing musical topics in a fun and accessible way.
Check out some fun educational videos by the Tobias Quartet here and here!
Clara served for two years as a teaching assistant to 5th and 6th grade violin students at the Dalton School, where she attended middle and high school. She currently runs a small private studio; feel free to contact for more information.
Outside of music, Clara enjoys spending her time cooking, eating delicious food (anything to do with peanut butter), being over-competitive about ping-pong, going on long walks, and endlessly searching for the most sublime stargazing sites.
Born on 9/11/2001, Clara can be heard as the voice of the audio guide at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum along with Robert deNiro, available as a free app for download at the App Store. Her writing has been published in “Faces of Hope: Babies Born on 9/11”, and she has been the feature of interviews on TV Globo and CBS Sports (watch here), speaking and playing violin.