Boris Agayev is a highly accomplished singer who has performed leading roles in opera theaters across Russia and Europe. In Israel, Agayev has performed with the Israel Philharmonic and many other orchestras. Accompanied by pianist Elizabeth Agayev, he gave recitals at Beit Zfunot Tarbut in May 2000 and in October 2001. These recitals were tremendously successful.

Composer Yosef Bardanashivili was born in Georgia. He completed his composition studies at the Tbilisi academy. When he arrived in Israel he worked as a teacher of composition at the Rubin Academy of Music in Tel Aviv. Today he is very much in demand as a composer because of his originality. His music integrates shades of the oriental music of southern Russia with the sounds of his new homeland.

Michael Berkovsky was born in 1982 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. At the age of seven he began taking piano lessons and at the age of 10 was already performing a Haydn concerto with the “Academy” Orchestra.

In 1994 Michael won a scholarship from the America-Israel Fund which enabled him to continue his music studies at the Petach-Tikva conservatory under the tutelage of Natalie Litvinova.

Tamar Borer was born in New York in 1965. She studied classical ballet at the Joffrey Ballet School and the American Ballet Theater. She also studied modern dance at the Rina Schoenfeld Dance Theater. Between 1989 and 1992 Tamar specialized in the art of Tai Chi in San Francisco, in Belinzi dance in Bali (Indonesia), Indian dance in Mexico and Butoh dance in Japan.

The Cantabile children’s choir started up in 1989 at the Petach Tikva conservatory as a school study track for choir singing, conducted and musically directed by Eva Pitlik. Also working with the choir were Shosh Lagil, artistic advisor and voice development teacher and Israel Kastorianu, pianist.

At the Hulda Forest, on Friday, September 19, 2003, in cooperation with the Jewish National Fund, the book, “Tsimchiel -- Legend and Tapestry,” was launched. In honor of the event, the tapestry works of Naomi Chizik-Ayalon were displayed, and the book was offered for sale in an exclusive edition. The book is a combination of legends written by Baruch Chizik, and the tapestry creations of his daughter, Naomi Chizik-Ayalon.

“Tsimchiel” is a portrayal of a unique connection between a father and his daughter, and of their attachment to the natural life of Israel, the country’s spiritual sources and its plants and flowers. It is a unique creative collaboration of great significance.

Ariel Davidoff was born in 1960. Between the years 1979 and 1984, he studied the music of the Peoples of Central Asia at the Institute for the Arts in Dushanbe. In 1992, he began his studies in composition at the Academy for Music in St. Petersburg, which he continued until he was awarded a Doctorate. Ariel served as a lecturer in Music Theory at the Academy until 1996, when he made Aliyah to Israel.

Tom was born in Tel Aviv in 1980. When he was five, he began to study dance at the “Bat Dor” School for Dance. For the next fifteen years, he danced classical ballet, modern ballet, jazz and tap at the school. At the same time, he also took courses at the Rina Schoenfeld Dance Studio and at the “Talma Yellin” school. Tom is a graduate of the “Open Democratic School” in Yaffo, where he majored in cinema and philosophy.

After making Aliyah to Israel in 1996, Ilya Plotkin founded the “Eterna Music” Choir. Eterna Music is an a cappella choir composed on fourteen professional singers specializing in the works of Russian composers. The choir has performed in concerts throughout the country, at the Mormon Center in Jerusalem, at the Nazareth Festival, at Abu Ghosh, and more.

Ilya Friedberg was born in Moscow in 1982, and his musical talents were recognized when he was three years old. All four of the children in his family play both the piano and the violin. When he was seven, Ilya suffered an accident and was forced to stop playing music for an extended period of time. In 1992, Ilya was scheduled to travel to the United States for a concert tour, as a member of a delegation of talented youth, but his family decided instead, to make Aliyah to Israel.

Yoel, the son of a family of artists, began his musical education at an early age as a cellist. By the time he was twelve years old, he had already begun to take his first steps as a conductor and at age fourteen, he began his formal studies at the Katrina Lewis Conservatory, affiliated with Tel Aviv University.
Yoel continued his studies in London, Paris, Milan and New York, under the guidance of some of the world’s greatest conductors, including Jean Fournet, Eugene Tzirlin and Jorma Panula. He was the last student of Carlo Maria Giulini, with whom he worked until the Maestro’s death.
Yoel has conducted orchestras in Germany, Italy, England Israel and the United States.

Simion Gavrikov was born in the FSU in 1985, and came to Israel in 1998. He is a graduate of the Israeli Conservatory of Music where he studied with Irina Svetlova. He continued his musical education at the Tel Aviv Academy of Music.

Simion Gavrikov has appeared as a soloist with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra as well as with the Moscow Orchestra, at the Music Conservatory in Moscow.

Boris Giltburg began studying piano at the age of five. He has appeared with orchestras in Israel, such as the Raanana Orchestra and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. He has also performed in London, Paris, Madrid, and Salzburg as well as in other cities.

Boris Giltburg has won a number of international competitions including Second Prize at the Paloma O’Shea competition in Spain and receiving the First Prize at the Van Dome Competition.

In 2000, under the sponsorship of the Association, Boris Giltburg gave a recital at the “Misgav Festival” (Days of Music in Nature), and he also performed at the Subscription Concert No. 5, with the Raanana Orchestra conducted by Nir Kabaretti.

Revital Hahamov began her musical studies at the Anzaghi Music Conservatory in Tel Aviv, where she studied with Ms. Liat Yaniv. She continued at the Rubin Academy of Music at Tel Aviv University, under the guidance of Arieh Vardi. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree as a Solo Artist from the Hanover School of Music, where she studied under Professor Arieh Vardi. Hahamov performs frequently in Israel and abroad as a soloist and as a member of various chamber music ensembles.

The clarinetist Moran Katz has performed as a soloist and as a member of chamber music ensembles in the United States, Eastern Europe and Asia. Her most recent performances as a soloist include appearances with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of the Maestro Zubin Mehta, the Tel Aviv Solo Ensemble, the Haifa Symphony Orchestra and the Beer Sheva Israeli Symphony.

Erga was born in Jerusalem in 1991. She began studying piano at the age of four and a half under the guidance of Michael Mariminski. From 1997, she studied under the guidance of Nina Mitnitski, originally at the Neve Sharett Conservatory and later on, at the Givatayim Conservatory.

Shosh Lagil was born in Israel and completed her studies at the Rubin Academy of Music at Tel Aviv University. She continued her studies in Paris, New York and at opera workshops held by the “Israeli Institute for the Vocal Arts.” Lagil has performed with a number of chamber music ensembles including the Israel Symphony of Beersheva, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the Nova Music Group and the New Israel Opera Company.

The artist Metavel, has chosen to connect her miniaturist art to the sources of Judaism. With faith, sensitivity and a great deal of talent, she has embellished the stories of the Book of Genesis, the tales of the Biblical miracles, the sagas and the psalms. Metavel creates and binds miniature books by hand and copies the texts in her own handwriting.

The Moran Singers Ensemble was founded in 1985, and since then, it has attained a number of very significant musical and educational achievements. Its members are youngsters age five and above. The ensemble includes two choirs for younger children, a traveling choir and an ensemble for older singers.

Sergey Ostrovsky began studying the violin at the age of six in Russia. Since then, he has been awarded numerous prizes in competitions in Russia as well as in major international competitions. He has performed with chamber and symphony orchestras in Israel, Russia and Europe.
In 1991, he made Aliyah to Israel with his family, and he continued his education at the Rubin Academy for Music in Tel Aviv. He then completed his studies for an “Artist’s” Degree at the Royal School in Rotterdam, Holland.

Roman Rabinowitz was born in Tashkent in 1985, and came to Israel in 1994. He began to study the piano at the age of six while still in Russia. In 2002 he completed his music major studies, with the highest honors at the Talma Yellin School for the Arts. For four years, he was a student of Professor Arieh Vardi, and at the Academy for Music in Tel Aviv. He won First Prize in the Competition for Piano Majors. Following rigorous examinations, Roman was accepted with a full scholarship, as a student at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, in the United States.

Ran Shevi was born in Israel in 1981. When he was still only in the 1st Grade, he encountered learning difficulties that were the result of severe dyslexia. These limitations expressed themselves in an inability to make progress in writing, reading and arithmetic skills. In response to these obstacles, Ran turned to the world of art as a way to express his frustration and the difficulties that he faced.

Gil Shochat is recognized around the world as one of the most interesting voices in the field of classical music to have come out of Israel in recent years.

He has composed symphonies, concerts for solo instruments and orchestra, operas and more than one hundred chamber music pieces as well as pieces for solo instruments. His compositions have been commissioned by, and heard at, many festivals around the world, including the London Festival and the Vienna Biennale, as well as by top rank orchestras and conductors.

This is a fresh, young ensemble composed of female singers who really like to sing. The love of song, the intimacy and the outstanding ability of the singers come together to create a unique musical experience, with room for each singer to perform individually, together with the joy of joint creation with the other singers.

Conductor: Shoshi Lagil
Pianist: Shachar Burk

Irit Stark was born in Israel and completed her studies, with the highest honors, at the Academy of Music in Jerusalem. She continued her training with Professor Vera Roget in London, and at the Opera Program at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, where she was awarded the prestigious First Place Admission Prize. From 2003 on, the singer has worked under the instruction of Professor Tamar Rachum.

Vladimir Torchinski, a recent immigrant to Israel, appeared in December 1999, in a joint concert with the composer Ariel Davidov, at the Felicia Blumenthal Music Center and Library in Tel Aviv. At the concert, the two composers performed their own works, in a variety of ensembles.

Sivan was born in 1981. When she was fifteen years old, she performed for the first time as a soloist with the Israel Chamber Orchestra, and then with the Israeli Symphony Orchestra of Rishon Letzion.

In 1998, she received an academic scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music in London, where she completed her studies for her Bachelor’s Degree with the Highest Honors. At the Recital marking the completion of her studies, Sivan was awarded a prize – a prestigious bow – for attaining the highest marks.

Michael was born in 1980 in the city of Volgodonsk, in Russia. He began studying piano when he was 7 years old, at the municipal conservatory. One of his teachers discovered his unique talent and after three years of study, at the age of 10, Michael was sent to a school for gifted students. This was a branch of the Tchaikovsky Music Academy. At the age of 18, he won First Prize in the Scriabin competition, in Moscow.

Ron Zilcha was born in Israel. He was the student of Eli Hefetz and Richard Lesser, and he completed both his Bachelor and Masters Degrees at the University of Indiana, at Bloomington, USA. While he was a student there, he won a competition for woodwind instruments. On completion of his studies, Zilcha returned to Israel, and joined the members of the Symphony Orchestra of Rishon LeTzion. He then went on to play with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.