The Multicultural Noontime Series of concerts at Penn State Harrisburg showcases Hummelstown violinist Kara Unal at noon Tuesday, March 15, in the Gallery Lounge of the Olmsted Building. The performance is free to the public. Unal, 19, has been playing the violin since the age of 3. She is a student of Sally Thomas at The Juilliard School in New York City. She graduated from the Pre-College Division at Julliard in May 2003 after seven years of study.

Unal made her solo debut at the age of 10 in Ankara, Turkey, with the Bilkent Sinfonia, a professional orchestra comprised of musicians from 19 nations. As a recitalist, Unal has performed in New York City at Columbia University in a program celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Turkish Republic, at Juilliard and in the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus at the fifth International Bellaplais Music Festival. She also was featured on the National Public Radio program “From the Top” in December 2001 when it taped at the Whitaker Center in Harrisburg.

An avid chamber musician, Unal played in a pre-college quartet in the Wednesdays at One series at Alice Tully Hall in New York City. Her most exciting performance to date was in January 2003 in Adana, Turkey, where she gave the Turkish premiere of the Stravinsky Violin Concerto in D with the Adana Symphony Orchestra.