Dina Namer

Artist Biography – Dina Michelson Namer, Piano

Dina Namer’s formal studies were at the Eastman and Manhattan Schools of Music, from which she received her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Piano Performance. Her principal teachers were Robert Goldsand, Artur Balsam and Benar Heifetz. In addition, with the support of the Canada Council, she has worked extensively with Menahem Pressler of the Beaux Arts Trio.

Dina Namer has had a diverse career in both the United States and Canada as a harpsichordist and pianist, performing and recording a wide range of repertoire from Baroque harpsichord to contemporary Canadian piano works. She has a long association with the musicians of the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Canada in Ottawa. Through the NAC’s “ Music for a Sunday Afternoon” series, she has collaborated with such artists as Bernard Greenhouse, Andrew Dawes, Paul Tortelier, Felix Galimir, Charles Treger, Timothy Eddy, Leone Buyse, Gail Williams and many others.

As an educator Dina has taught piano performance at Ottawa, Carleton and Queen’s Universities.

As a chamber musician, Ms. Namer has been a member of the Aulos Ensemble, a trio for flute, clarinet and piano, the Ottawa Baroque Ensemble, the Kingston Baroque Soloists, and the Sh’ma Ensemble, a group devoted to performing works of composers who died in the Holocaust. Her work with the Aulos Trio culminated in the release of the CanSona CD entitled “Playing Tribute”, which features chamber works of several Canadian composers. More recently she collaborated with violist Lisa Moody in a CD release of Canadian works entitled “Magdalene Wood”.

Ms. Namer performs frequently in the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival, “ Festival Music and Beyond, ” and the Alexandria Festival of the Lakes in Alexandria, Minnesota. She is heard frequently on Minnesota Public Radio, CBC, and “Radio Canada.”