Viola playing has always been my love.

Now retired from engineering practice, research and education I return to some of the things I could not fit around my day job - performing some of the viola repertoire as best I can being a big one of these.

Watching the beauty of the passing seasons from our country verandah and enjoying grandchildren being others.

Dr. Alona Epshtein was born in 1975 in Baku, Azerbaijan, in 1990 immigrated to Israel. She graduated from Buchman-Mehta school of Music in Tel-Aviv University, where studied composition with prof. Leon Schidlowsky and Ruben Seroussi (M.Mus. Summa Cum Laude) and was a recipient of America-Israel Cultural Foundation scholarship (2003-2005), Wolfson scholarship (2006) and Buchman Foundation Doctoral   scholarship (2007-2010). She accomplished her PhD studies at Bar-Ilan University, PhD projects were supervised by prof. Betty Olivero and prof. Marina Ritzareva.  
Epshtein’s music was commissioned, performed and broadcasted in Israel and abroad, to mention ”Aviv” Competitions, The Adele and John Gray Endowement Fund (Tel-Aviv 2005) , “Young Euro Classics” International Festival(Berlin 2006), Kfar-Blum Chamber Music festival (Kfar-Blum 2010),ACL festival (Taipei 2011),Contemporary Music Days (Nuremberg 2013),’’Cortazar- Life in music and words” conference (Long Beach 2014), Israeli Music Festival,(Tel-Aviv, 2014), ‘The Present of Orchestral Asia” festival (Kyoto 2015), Teiva Marathon (Tel-Aviv, 2016), China ASEAN festival (Nanning, 2018), ACL International Festival (Kawasaki, 2025), concert series in Tel-Aviv, New York and Buenos Aires . Two of her orchestral pieces won first prizes,”Shearim” in 2006 (Israeli Young Philharmonic Orchestra competition) and “Mal’achei Stav” in 2010 (Acum  Prize-ASAP) ,she was a recipient of Israeli Prime Minister Award for composition (2013), received Acum (ASAP) Prize for her chamber work ‘Casa Tomada’ (2015),won second prize on Red Note International Festival Composition Competition (USA) for her work ‘Snow’(2017) and first prize on Artistes en Herbe Composition Competition (Luxembourg) for her work ‘Aspects of Sarah’ (2020). In 2021 her project "Lucid Dreams" which included her 4 new works was released in Tel-Aviv. In March 2025 her project "Dancers in the Vineyards" in collaboration with pianist Tali Morgulis was released in Houston, USA.
Between 2010-2015 and in 2019, 2023-2024  Epshtein served as a chairperson of Israeli Women Composers Forum, she is a founder and an artistic director of Vox Feminae Music festival in Tel-Aviv.
In 2020 was a part of Israeli Acum (ASAP) Composition Competition Jury, in years 2014-2019 served as a part of Performance Evaluation committee at Israeli Ministry of Culture.  In 2025 was part of jury of Artistes en Herben International Competition in Luxembourg.
2 of her articles were published in Peimot Magazine for Music and Culture (Reisling edition). 
 Alona Epshtein was invited to give lectures and masterclasses in Israel and abroad, lately in Kyoto and Houston Universities.
She was teaching harmony at Open University, currently  is teaching ear training, theory and composition at Rosh-Ha Ayin and Bat Yam conservatories and privately.

Musician,viola player,sound editor.Teaching viola,violin and guitar private lessons.Composing music.

Followers of viola magic