Sergiu Natra was born in Bucharest, Romania. He studied at the Bucharest Academy of Music with Leo Keppler, and immigrated to Israel with his wife Sonia in 1961, settling in Tel Aviv. From 1975 to 1985 Natra taught at the Rubin Academy of Music in Tel Aviv. He won several prizes including the George Enescu Prize (1945) for his piece, March and Chorale, the Engel Prize (1970), and the Israeli Prime Minister Prize for composers (1984). Natra's musical pieces have been performed by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, among others, and his works for the harp have won him international recognition, including Sonatina (1969), Prayer (1970) and Divertimento (1976). Natra's early works show the influence of Stravinsky, Prokofiev, and Hindemith. After his immigration to Israel, he began using the Hebrew language and Biblical themes, apparent in his works, Song of Deborah (1967), and A book of Hebrew songs for harp (1979).
Sources:
Uri Toeplitz and Ronit Seter. 'Natra, Sergiu.' Grove Music Online.; Toeplitz, Uri, Yohanan Boehm, and Israela Stein. 'Natra, Sergiu.' Encyclopaedia Judaica.; 'Natra Sergiu.' Imi.
