Trio Mona
Sigalit MizrachiViolin
Netanel PollakViola
Yotam HaranCello
Active all-around Israel, Trio Mona brings an innovative, unique voice to the classical music scene. The trio focuses mainly on research and performance of Parisian music from the 19th century, which is for the most part unknown to modern audiences. Post-revolutionary Paris enjoyed a blossom of salons, where a diverse range of chamber music was played, serving as a hub for numerous composers who enriched the local musical community. Compositions written during this time were directly affected by the Parisian admiration of Beethoven and his legacy, while also containing melodies associated with the French ballet and Grand Opera, and musical signals anticipating the impressionist style of the turn of the century.
Trio members are all alumni of the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, as well as other renowned music schools such as the Conservatory of Amsterdam, the Juilliard School, and the University of Miami. Bringing with them years-long experience with historically informed performance, the ensemble presents an extraordinary instrumental approach, making the music fresh and accessible. Trio Mona presents traditional recitals, as well as lectured house performances, in which the audience takes part in a magical restoration of the 19th century Parisian salon. In this spirit, the ensemble also offers its services for conferences, ceremonies, and receptions, combining French repertoire with more standard classical works, Israeli music, and popular hits.
Our Programs
At Godard's Salon
Pieces by Benjamin Godard, Adolf Blanc and Albert Roussel
The Parisian musical scene at the end of the 19th century was flooded with chamber music. Whether as a medium that made it easier for composers to have their music performed, or as a medium that made small salon concerts possible, chamber music was right at the center of the action. Join us for an evening of Parisian chamber music for string trio!
The Parisian Obsession
Pieces by Beethoven, Adolf Blanc and Charles Baudiot
France and Germany have been eternally at war... But during the 19th century, Paris found itself obessesed with an utterly german composer - Beethoven! Whether at the concert hall or in salons, the Parisian audience encountered the admired composer again and again in a variety of musical settings—string trio included! Trio Mona invites you into the living room, transformed for one evening into a charming, Parisian salon of the 19th century.
The Crew
Sigalit performs regularly in Israel with different orchestras and ensembles, in varied styles, both traditional and contemporary. She served in the IDF as an outstanding musician and was a member of the IDF String Quartet. Sigalit is an alumna of the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, where she studied violin performance and pedagogy with the distinguished violinists Ora Shiran and Motti Schmidt. While a student, she already performed as a chamber and orchestral member on important stages in Israel and Europe.
Netanel is a member of many musical communities around the world such as the Perlman Music Program, Heifetz Institute, The Academy of Sacred Drama (USA), Musique a Flaine (France), and Aurora (Sweden). He served in the Israeli Defense Forces under the status of an “Outstanding Musician”, graduated from the Jerusalem Academy of Music, and from the master’s program at the Juilliard School, where he studied with Heidi Castleman and Cynthia Roberts. As an early music performer, Pollak has been principal violist for the European Union Baroque Orchestra, Jerusalem Baroque Orchestra, Ensemble Phoenix, In Mixto Genere Ensemble (Israel), and Juilliard 415 ensemble. He recently received his D.M.A. degree from the University of Miami Frost School of Music, under the mentorship of Jodi Levitz, where he conducted a research of unknown viola repertoire from the USSR. Pollak plays on an 1801 Lupot viola, loaned to him by the Zisapel Family Foundation.
Yotam specializes in historically informed performance of music from the 18th and 19th centuries, with a special preference for the French repertoire. He began his baroque cello studies with the Jerusalem Baroque Orchestra’s principal cellist, Orit Messer, and has been performing with the orchestra as second cellist since 2010. Yotam studied with Zvi Plesser and Michal Korman at the Jerusalem Academy of Music, where he completed his bachelor's studies, and later completed his master’s at the Conservatory of Amsterdam under the instruction of Viola de Hoog. He studied historical acting with Prof. Jed Wentz during his time in Amsterdam, and after finishing his studies specialized in 19th performance practice under the instruction of cellist Job ter Haar. Yotam is also a member of Nymphes et Monstres - an ensemble focused on French repertoire from the first part of the 18th century.