Sergei Nakariakov

Russian-Israeli virtuoso trumpeter, born May 10, 1977 in Gorky, Soviet Union (now Nizhny Novgorod, Russia).

Nakariakov was dubbed "The Paganini of the trumpet" by the Finnish press after a performance at the Korsholm Festival when he was only 13 years old; and dubbed "Caruso of the Trumpet" in 1997 by Musik und Theater. His repertoire includes not only the entire range of original literature for the trumpet, but is continually expanding into broader territories, including many transcriptions. He has also brought the flügelhorn to prominence on the classical/concert platform.

Born in Gorky in 1977, Sergei began to play the piano when he was six years old, but moved on to the trumpet, after a spine injury in 1986 curtailed his piano studies. In the early years, his father tirelessly sought various trumpet teachers, however Sergei pays tribute to the technical and musical gifts he has learned from his father, Mikhail Nakariakov, who has transcribed a large repertoire of classical concertos for the trumpet – and with whom he studied daily from the very beginning, and since 1995 exclusively. From the age of ten Sergei started to perform with orchestras in major concert halls of the Soviet Union. In 1988, he got a diploma at a brass competition for adults. It became clear that in order to develop his career and to travel, he had to leave the Soviet Union. (His hometown of Nizhny Novgorod was a closed city.) His family made the decision to move to Israel in order to give him the opportunities he needed. In 1991 he enjoyed great success at the Ivo Pogorelich Festival in Bad Wörishofen, and later that same year he made his debut together with the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra at the Salzburg Festival. One year later, in 1992, Sergei was a guest at the "Schleswig – Holstein Musikfestival" where he was awarded the "Prix Davidoff."

Since then he has appeared in many of the worlds leading centers of music, including the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, the Lincoln Center in New York, and the Royal Festival Hall and the Royal Albert Hall in London. He performs in festivals in most European Countries, tours for several weeks each year in Japan, and also appears as guest soloist in North America and Canada. He has collaborated with the world’s most feted musicians, orchestras and conductors.