| Harold Martina was born in Curaçao, Dutch Caribbean. He began to study music as a small child. He furthered his training with the Italian pianist Annamaria Pennella at the Fine Arts Institute of Medellín, Colombia where he graduated Cum Laude. He completed his advanced studies in Europe with Professor Richard Hauser at the Vienna Academy of Music and the Performing Arts, and became the first student to graduate Summa Cum Laude by unanimous vote from the Academy. In conjunction with this distinction the Austrian Ministry of Culture awarded him a special prize. In 1975, Queen Juliana of the Netherlands appointed him as a Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau for his outstanding contribution to music. In 1990, the National Committee of Honorary Membership of Sigma Alpha Iota, an international fraternity of music, selected Harold Martina as a National Arts Associate. In 2001, the University of Antioquia in Medellín, Colombia, named its recital hall Harold Martina Auditorium. Mr. Martina has made several recordings: one in Holland, three in Belgium, five in Colombia, and two in the United States. He has been referenced in ten books. He has performed as soloist in the U.S. with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the State Symphony Orchestra of New Jersey, the Boston Symphony Players, the East Texas State Orchestra, the Knox Galesburg Symphony, the Butler University Symphony Orchestra, the Texas Christian University Symphony Orchestra, and the Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra. He toured with the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra conducted by David Zinman. Harold Martina has accompanied world-renowned performers, such as: violinists Eugene Fodor, Daniel Heifetz, Henryk Szering, Erick Friedman, and Ruggiero Ricci; cellists Pierre Fournier, André Navarro, Leonard Rose, Christine Walevska, Paul Tortelier, Adolfo Odnoposoff, Carlos Prieto and Janos Starker; sopranos Maria Stader and Sheila Armstrong; flautists James Galway and Gary Schocker, and bandoneonist Daniel Binelli. He has performed in Europe, the United States of America, Central and South America, Israel, China and Japan, with extraordinary acclaim by both audiences and critics. At present, he is a Pianist-in-Residence at the School of Music of Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. |
