Israeli-Canadian violinist Daniel Bard began his violin studies in Haifa with Avigdor Zamir. After immigrating to Canada at age 13 he continued his studies with David Zafer who was an immense influence on his musical development. Mr. Bard completed his Bachelor of Music at the University of Toronto studying with Lorand Fenyves and holds a Masters degree from the Yale School of Music where he worked Peter Oundjian. He continued his studies in London with David Takeno at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Passionately committed to chamber music he was a member of the Metro String Quartet in Canada which collaborated with such artists as Menahem Pressler, Gilbert Kalish, Laurence Lesser and Shauna Rolston. Mr. Bard is currently a member of Trio Mondrian which recently won First Prize as well as a Special Prize for Brahms interpretation at the International Chamber Music Competition in Trieste, Italy. He is often invited to play chamber music concerts in Israel, Europe and North America, both as a violinist and violist. Mr. Bard has taken part in festivals such as Prussia Cove, Ravinia, Taos, Encuentro in Spain and the Styriarte Festival in Graz. In 1999 and 2000 he was the recipient of the prestigious Chalmers Training Grant from the Ontario Arts Council and in 2002 was awarded a scholarship from the Wingate Foundation in London. Mr. Bard is currently the concertmaster of the Camerata Nordica in Sweden and has performed with the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, the Seiler Strings of Toronto, the Nagaoko Chamber Orchestra and the Jerusalem Baroque orchestra.

 

One of the most sought out violists in Europe today, Guy Ben-Ziony serves as guest principal violist of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen under Paavo Jaervi, Gidon Kremer’s Kremerata Baltica, the Camerata Salzburg under Leonidas Kavakos and the Camerata Nordica in Sweden. As a chamber musician he has appeared in Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall and the Berlin Konzerthaus and has collaborated with such notable musicians as Gidon Kremer, Antje Weithaas, Tabea Zimmermann, Tatjana Masurenko, Boris Pergamenschikow and  Menachem Pressler. He has taken part in many festivals including Lockenhaus, Davos, Dubrovnik, Ravinia, “Spannungen in Heimbach”, Jerusalem International Chamber Music Festival, Moritzburg, Prussia-Cove and “Chamber music connects the world” in Kronberg. As a past member in the Zapolsky String Quartet he has released albums for both the Chandos and Classico labels. Mr. Ben-Ziony made his orchestral debut playing the Bartok concerto in Leipzig under Daniel Harding and has subsequently appeared with most of Israel’s orchestras, among them the Israel Chamber Orchestra, Tel-Aviv Soloists and the I.D.F. chamber orchestra. He began his musical studies on the violin, changing to viola four years later and completed his studies under Professor Tabea Zimmermann in Frankfurt and Professor Tatiana Masurenko in Leipzig. He currently holds a professorsip in both viola and chamber music studies at the Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Musikhochschule in Leipzig.

 

 
Described by the Peninsula Reviews as “an artist of the highest order”, Clarinetist Tibi Cziger is the first clarinetist ever admitted to the prestigious Artist Diploma program at The Juilliard School. His mentors include Charles Neidich, Yehuda Gilad, and Richard Lesser. Mr. Cziger is a frequent recitalist and soloist having appeared with the Tivoli Symphony Orchestra in Copenhagen, the Israel Chamber Orchestra, and The Israel young Philharmonic, where he was principal clarinetist 2000-2002. Mr. Cziger was also a substitute clarinetist at the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and collaborated with the Eden and Orpheus chamber orchestras. An avid chamber musician, Mr. Cziger has been heard in Israel, Europe and the US and has frequently been featured in radio broadcasts.  He has collaborated with the Gropius, Metropolis, ACJW, SEM, and Argento ensembles among others and is appearing frequently in such venues as Carnegie Hall, the 92nd Street Y and LACMA.He won prizes at the Carmel Music Society Competition, the Tel Aviv Academy competitions, the Ben-Haim Competition, and received the Leni Fe Bland and Mitchel Lurie Awards. He has participated in the Festival en Brionnais (France), and the West Eastern Divan Workshop under the baton of Daniel Barenboim. Mr. Cziger holds a Master of Music degree from the USC Thornton School of Music where he received an outstanding graduate award, and a Bachelor of Music degree magna cum laude from the Rubin Music Academy in Tel Aviv. He has worked with, Haim Taub, Michael Tree and Emanuel Ax and was a scholarship recipient from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation 1997-2005.

 

Pianist Yael Kareth is a student of Daniel Barenboim in Berlin as well as Prof. Dimitri Bashkirov, having previously earned her Bachelor’s degree as a student of Tomer Lev at the Buchman-Mehta school of music at the Tel Aviv University. Previously she studied with Ms. Eva Armonn at the Israeli Conservatory of Music in Tel Aviv, Ms. Kareth is a long-time scholarship recipient from the America-Israel Cultural foundation both as a soloist as well as in chamber music. She has participated regularly in many chamber music festivals including the Perlman Music Program, Aspen Music Festival and Apple Hill Festival and has performed extensively in Israel’s most important venues and has been featured on several radio broadcasts. She has appeared as soloist with the Israel Camerata, the Tel Aviv Soloist Ensemble, and the Buchman-Mehta school orchestra under the batons of Zubin Mehta, Avner Biron and others. Ms. Kareth completed her military service as a member of the “outstanding musicians unit” in the IDF orchestra.                                                               

                                                               

Cellist Michal Korman has appeared as soloist with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Zubin Mehta, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the Israel Camerata Jerusalem, the Tivoli Festival Orchestra (Denmark) and the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional of Peru. An avid chamber musician, Ms. Korman has participated in the Marlboro and Yellow barn music festivals and has collaborated with Itamar Golan, Arnold Steinhardt, Samuel Rhodes, Roger Tapping and members of The Peabody Trio. She has also taken part in the West-Eastern-Divan festival directed by Daniel Barenboim and the Manchester International Cello Festival. Born in Jerusalem in 1983, Ms. Korman is currently enrolled in the prestigious Artist Diploma program at The Juilliard School studying with Joel Krosnick having completed her Masters there as a student of Timothy Eddy. She holds a Bachelors degree magna cum laude from the Buchman- Mehta School of Music at Tel Aviv University where she was a student of Hillel Zori. Prior to her academic studies, she studied with Uzi Wiesel and Sabena Frankenberg and graduated from the Rubin Academy High School of Music and Dance in Jerusalem. Among her prizes are first prize at the Israel Lions Organization competition, the Tel Aviv Rubin Academy solo and chamber music competitions, the Special Prize at the Paul Ben-Haim National Competition, and America-Israel Cultural Foundation scholarships.She has worked with Anner Bylsma, Bernard Greenhouse, Franz Helmerson, Arnold Steinhardt, Roger Tapping, Donald Weilerstein and Garry Hoffman.

 

Harpist Sivan Magen is the First Prize winner at the 2006 International Harp Contest in Israel in which he was also named winner of the Propes Prize for the best performance of the required Israeli piece and the Renié prize for the best performance of Henriette Renié's "Ballade Fantastique". He is the first Israeli to have won this prestigious contest in its 47 years of existence. Mr. Magen has appeared at Le Trianon and Salle Gaveau in Paris, the Kfar-Blum Festival in Israel, recorded for Israeli Radio and Television and participated in the 2006 Marlboro Music Festival. He has performed with most of the Israeli orchestras, including the Israeli Philharmonic under Mendi Rodan. Born in Jerusalem, Sivan Magen first studied the piano with Benjamin Oren and Talma Cohen and harp with Irena Kaganovsky at the Jerusalem Academy for Music and Dance. After finishing his military service as an "Outstanding Musician" in 2001, he continued his studies with Germaine Lorenzini in France and Isabelle Moretti at the Paris Conservatory from which he graduated in June 2005.  He's currently a member of Nancy Allen's studio at the Juilliard School in New York. Sivan Magen is a winner of the America-Israel Cultural Foundation Scholarships since 1995.

 

Pianist Assaff Weisman’s performances have taken him to some of the major venues in Europe, the Middle East and the Americas. These include appearances at the Rudolfinum in Prague, Beethovenhalle in Bonn, Philips Hall in The Hague, the Millennium Piano Festival in Spain as well as in Italy, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. As first prize winner in the 2006 Iowa International Piano Competition he has appeared as soloist with the Sioux City Symphony, the American Chamber Orchestra, the Connecticut Valley Chamber Orchestra and the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional of Peru. His radio credits include WQXR’s “Young Artist Showcase”, “The Voice of Music” in Israel as well as multiple appearances on WGBH radio in Boston where he has recorded repertoire ranging from Bach to André Previn. His 2002 release of an all Schubert recording for Yamaha’s “NYC Rising Star” series quickly became one of its best sellers. An avid chamber musician, Mr. Weisman has taken part in the Aspen Music Festival, Campos do Jordão (Brazil), Lima Chamber Music Festival (Peru), The Music Festival of the Hamptons and Verbier (Switzerland). Making his home in New York City, Mr. Weisman can often be heard in such local venues as Alice Tully Hall, Bargemusic, St. Paul’s Chapel, Trinity Church and Rockefeller University. He is a graduate of the Juilliard School where he studied with Herbert Stessin and where he now is a member of the Evening Division piano faculty. Prior to his studies in New York Mr. Weisman studied with Professor Victor Derevianko in Israel and was supported by scholarships from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation

 

  Violinist Itamar Zorman has appeared as a soloist with the Jerusalem Symphony, the Israel Sinfonietta, and the Ramat Gan Camerata and has been featured in numerous television and radio programs. As a long time recipient of the America-Israel Cultural foundation scholarships, a member of the Jerusalem Music Center's "Young Musicians Group" as well as a feature talent of the Ilona Feher foundation Mr. Zorman has participated in master classes with Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zuckerman, Shlomo Mintz, Ida Handel and Ivry Gitlis. Among his many awards are top prizes at the Claremont Competition in Israel, the Rubin Academy Jerusalem Competition, the Israeli Conservatory Competition, the ISA Budapest-Vienna-Prague competition for contemporary music and the Ben-Haim Competition. He has taken part in festivals at Keshet Eilon, Weathersfield, The Heifetz International Music Institute and Chautauqua. Mr. Zorman is a graduate of the Israeli Conservatory in Tel-Aviv and the Jerusalem Academy of Music where his teachers have included Hagai Shaham, David Chen and Nava Milo and is currently completing his Master's degree at The Juilliard School in New York with Sylvia Rosenberg.