Simona Frenkel, a versatile international performer, hails from Kyiv, Ukraine. She gained recognition through national and international competitions. Her appearances on Ukrainian National TV, along with her monograph Organ v muzykalʹnoĭ iudaike (Organ in the Musical Judaica), earned her the prestigious title of Honored Artist of Ukraine for her professional contribution to Ukrainian culture. Ms. Frenkel has made numerous audio and video recordings, specializing in performing works by Bach and Mozart.
Simona began her career at the age of eight with a solo debut at the Hall of Columns of the National Philharmonic of Ukraine. Since then, she has been frequently heard in recitals across the United States and Europe. Ms. Frenkel is in high demand as a chamber musician and soloist in New York City, performing at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and St. Paul’s Chapel at Columbia University. She has collaborated with eminent musicians including renowned violinist Dmitri Berlinsky, Metropolitan Opera’s Craig Hart, Vladimir Grishko, Victoria Lukianetz, Ukrainian soprano Olga Basistuk, leading mezzo-sopranos of the Mariinsky Theater Tamara Tuftina, and Bolshoi Opera's leading tenor Oleg Kulko. Simona has also performed, toured, and recorded with the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra and Choir.
Ms. Frenkel holds Master’s degrees in Organ from the Juilliard School of Music and the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, a Master’s in Piano, and a Ph.D. in Musicology from the Ukrainian National Tchaikovsky Academy of Music. Her principal teachers include John Weaver, Hugo Lepnurm, and Igor Riabov. She has received private coaching from renowned pianists Mikhail Voskresensky, Alexander Jocheles, and Vladimir Nielsen.
Simona Frenkel was a faculty member at the Ukrainian National Tchaikovsky Academy of Music and The Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music at Hebrew Union College, NY. Currently, she is on the faculty of the 92NY School of Music.