Nurmira Greenberg

A native of Kyrgyzstan, cellist Nurmira Salimbaeva Greenberg has performed as a chamber musician and recitalist across Europe, Central Asia, and the United States. At the age of 17, she won the National Performers Competition of Kyrgyzstan and was chosen to accompany the nation’s president and first lady on a diplomatic tour of Russia, Turkey, and Switzerland, where she performed for various dignitaries and heads of state. Recently, she has been principal cellist for the Equinox Symphony and Mercury Opera, a member of the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra and string quartet Four Known, and a featured performer and lecturer for the Asia-Pacific History Foundation and The Asia Society. She has performed in recent years at the Kennedy Center and Merkin Hall. Her CD, Hiding Place, features her own innovative compositions and arrangements for cello and piano. Her CD, My Kyrgyzstan, features classical and traditional music from her home country.

A student of Alan Harris and the late Stephen Kates, Nurmira earned her Master of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music, and is also on the faculty of Greenwich House Music School, Church Street School of Music and Art, and Bloomingdale School of Music. A diverse musician, she also performs on the komuz, a traditional lute-like instrument native to central Asia.