ABOUT THE SCHOOL

The Buchmann-Mehta School of Music was founded in 2005 as a unique partnership between Tel-Aviv University (TAU), the largest and most comprehensive university in Israel, and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO), the country`s most prominent music institution.

The school`s mission is to train Israel`s elite young musicians and to prepare them for professional careers, as well as to create a future generation for the IPO.

The school foundation was made possible by the generous donation of  businessman Josef Buchmann and the vision of Maestro Zubin Mehta, who has been actively involved in the school since its inception and conducts the school`s orchestra regularly.

Although  inaugurated  as   late   as  2004, the

school roots go back to 1945, when it was first established as the Israel Academy of Music, later named after Samuel Rubin.  The school is currently comprised of the Academy departments, the musicology department and the orchestral training program of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. The School is part of the Tel-Aviv University, and is located in the Ramat-Aviv campus as part of the Yolanda and David Katz Faculty of the Arts.    

The founding of the school was made possible thanks to the generous donation of businessman Josef Buchmann, vice president of the board of governors of Tel Aviv University and a staunch friend of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. As the School's Honorary President, Zubin Mehta was an active partner in the foundation of the school. Maestro Mehta has also been actively involved in the school's activities since its inception and conducts the school's orchestra annually.

 The School trains the future generations of Israel's musicians in every musical domain: performing, singing, conducting, composition and theoretical research, emphasizing the training of a new generation of orchestral players – a reserve of musicians for the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and the other Israeli orchestras. The School grants B.A/B.Mus and M.A/M.Mus academic degrees in all fields of study, and PhD in musicology studies or musicology studies combined with the composition department.

 The faculty includes leading musicians, teachers and lecturers in their respective fields; many of whom serve as the leading players of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and are of international acclaim. Many of the visiting artists, the elite of the musicians today that visit the school are guests of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.  Numerous students already have a professional career while still continuing their studies, performing in major concert venues both in Israel and abroad and many have received international awards.

 Leading Israeli musicians have held the post of the director of the school (formally known as the Academy of Music), among them composer and violist Oedoen Partos; pianist and conductor Arie Vardi, composers Yehezkiel Braun, Yizhak Sadai and Joseph Dorfman, violinist Yair Kless, composer and conductor Ami Maayani, composer and conductor Noam Sheriff, the pianist Tomer Lev and Currently the head of the School of Music is the conductor and bassoon player Zeev Dorman.

 The School has a special excellence program that enables 100 especially talented students to receive full scholarships in each of the School's departments. The intensive financial support enables the young musicians to dedicate all their time in studies and practices.

The School holds intensive musical activity comprising of a symphony orchestra, oratorio choir, chamber choir, opera ensemble, contemporary music ensemble and about 50 different other ensembles.

The school grants many opportunities in enhancing performance experience: all of the ensembles of the school participate in the school's public concert series. The students also perform in the leading musical venues in Israel and abroad. Over 200 concerts are held annually in the two concert halls of the school ("Clairmont" and "Targ") alongside competitions, workshops and master classes given by leading guest musicians from Israel and abroad – many of whom are guests of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.

The School's series of concerts and lectures with over 2000 subscribers, held in the Clairmont Concert Hall on the University campus, draw music lovers from all over the country and give the students an opportunity to present the excellent work being done with all the School's ensembles, augmented by teachers and famous guest artists.

 The Orchestral Training Program enables the members of the School's symphony orchestra to experience orchestral performing at the highest level. The orchestra's musicians work closely with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra's principal players in weekly sessions and sectional rehearsals. The orchestra has two subscription series of its own, and regularly performs abroad. The most recent concert tour includes performances at the "Auditorio Nacional di Musica" in Madrid and the "Konzerthaus" in Berlin. Among the musicians that have collaborated with the orchestra are conductors Zubin Mehta and Christoph von Dohnanyi, soloists Yo Yo Ma and Maxim Vengerov among many others. The head of the orchestral training program is conductor Mr. Zeev Dorman.

 The students who come from all over the country and from all social classes are joined by foreign students from all over the world: Europe, North and South America, the Far East and Africa. Many of the students are immigrants from the former U.S.S.R and their quick absorption in the School's academic studies is an outstanding Israeli success story.