serves as principal cellist of the Haifa Symphony Orchestra and performs extensively as a soloist and chamber musician in Israel and abroad. Born in Kiev, the Ukrain, Alexander began studying the cello at the young age of 7 and early on he won prizes in number of national competitions for young musicians in his native country.
He further continued his studied of the cello at the Kiev State Conservatory under the guidance of Professor Vadim Chervov, and in the years that followed he pursued his education at the Rubin Academy of music in Tel Aviv, Israel studying under the guidance of Professor Uzi Wiesel and Professor Hillel Zori respectfully.
Alexander was the prizewinner of both the Annual Cello Competition and the Annual Chamber Music Competition of the Rubin Academy in the years 1994 and 1995 and throughout his studies at the Rubin Academy, he was a recipient of the American- Israel Culture Foundation Scholarship program. Alexander performed in several international master classes for renowned cellists such as Bernard Greenhouse and Frans Helmerson.
After completing his education, Mr. Kotlyar was hired as the principal cellist of leading Orchestras in Israel such as the Israel Kibbutz Orchestra, the Israel Camerata Jerusalem Orchestra and the Haifa Symphony Orchestra. As a soloist, Mr. Kotlyar performed under the conducting of Maestro Xu Zhong,Noam Sheriff, Daniel Klayner and Gabriel Chmura. He appeared in TV and Radio broadcasts of the Israeli broadcast Authority, featuring contemporary Israeli Compositions and attended prestigious music festivals such as the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival in Germany, and the Kol Ha'musica Music Festival in Israel. Mr. Kotlyar's commercial CD recording of works by Beethoven and Schubert was released in the year 2001.
