FROM REMOTE LAND TO THE HOLY LAND
Country: Israel
In this presentation Yuval Benozer draws on his own experiences of Jewish music during his directorship of the Israeli Vocal Ensemble. In 2017 the choir commissioned 13 new choral arrangements of Jewish hymns which culminated in a concert rich in sounds and colours with music hailing from Georgia, Egypt, Morocco, Yemen, Iraq, Poland, Russia and Latvia.
Israel is a country whose foundation is built on immigration; over the past 140 years its inhabitants have originated from more than 50 countries. Each community has brought its own culture and, together with the local Arabic culture, they create a unique melting pot. This session invites you to explore the enormous variety of Jewish music, the process of transforming Ethnic solo heterophonic songs into choral music, planting music in new soil and connecting classical audiences with ethnic music.
Yuval Benozer is conductor and artistic director of the Israeli Vocal Ensemble, and a sought-after lecturer. He is co-creator of The Maestro Program and a graduate of the Jerusalem Academy of Music and the Indiana University School of Music. As guest conductor, Benozer has conducted in France, Italy, Germany and Argentina as well as all the major orchestras in Israel. He has appeared at many festivals in Europe, Asia and the USA. Yuval collaborated with the Israeli Philharmonic as chorus master under the batons of the world's great conductors Daniel Barenboim, James Levine, Kurt Masur, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Zubin Mehta and Antonio Pappano. Yuval also leads a weekly radio program "Choirs" on Israel's National Public Radio.