“Here in the Land of Israel where poetry was turned into life, life will be turned into poetry. ”
Haim Nahman Bialik

The art form which most uniquely identifies a people to its country is its music. As Israel’s citizens are made up of a remarkably disparate synthesis of locales and geographies—East and West, Europe and Asia, the Americas and Africa, encompassing the entire gamut of the Jewish Diaspora—its musical culture reflects an exceptionally wide range of origins.

Even before the establishment of the State, music was a cherished value for the Jewish community in the Land of Israel. The Philharmonic was established in 1936, and song was a staple of the early pioneers as well as of their bourgeois compatriots. Aside from the more well-known movement of trained musicians from Central and Eastern Europe to Israel, up until their mass exodus in 1950, most of the professional Iraqi musicians were Jewish, playing in the national orchestras, as well as the nightclubs. Jews brought to the State of Israel not only the mainstream music of their countries of origin, but the singularly Jewish music each community had developed: variations of klezmer from Eastern Europe, Chalgi Baghdad from Iraq, Ladino Kansiones from the Balkans and Palestine, etc.

During the 1950’s Omanut Le’am (Art to the People) was founded to bring cultural fare to residents of the periphery. Today the association continues to make art accessible to all citizens of the State, adopting the added goals of nurturing multi-culturalism and an openness to the arts, in an effort to foster peaceful co-existence amongst all sectors of society.

Over the past decade and a half, Israel has been deluged with musicians, and luckily, new audiences for music. The joke goes that if a Russian immigrant stepped off the plane without a violin case tucked under his/her arm, he or she must be a pianist. The massive immigration from the FSU was replete with world-class professional musicians. New symphony orchestras were inaugurated, not to mention the scores of chamber ensembles, quartets, trios and choirs which sprang up.

As the State reaches 60, there is so much music that some of it is bound to spill over the borders to audiences abroad. The New York Times chose Idan Raichel’s Putumayo-produced album as one of the best world music releases of 2007. Israel’s Aviv Quartet, Ariel Quartet and other classic musicians regularly receive international awards. Anat Cohen won both the ‘Up and Coming Artist’ and‘Best Clarinetist’ awards at the 2007 Jazz Awards (JJA-US) ceremony. BBC Music Awards have gone to Yasmin Levy and Yair Dalal. Recognized as an incubator for young jazz talent, Israelis perform around the world.

Avishai Cohen, Anat Cohen, Amos Hoffman and Eli Degibri, are only a few of the accomplished Israeli jazz musicians who unabashedly incorporate elements of well-known Israeli tunes into their virtuoso playing and composition. In the classical genre, contemporary composers, such as Andre Hajdu and Eitan Avitsur have written pieces which abound with distinctly Israeli thematic and stylistic voices. Their works have been performed by the worlds leading orchestras. Israeli classical musicians, residing both in and outside of Israel, are staples on the world classical stage. Israeli popular music has also made sporadic inroads abroad—Noa (Ahinoam Nini), Aviv Gefen and Eurovision contest winners—in venues from North America to Japan.

Yet all this should hardly come as a surprise to anyone who’s been following the music scene in Israel.

For decades now, festivals, competitions, and Master Classes have been held in Israel to worldwide recognition and acclaim. It’s no secret that the best and brightest have come to Israel to display their wares and learn from the masters in their fields.

Israeli rock musicians—alternative, progressive, psychedelic, folk, classic, experimental, metal and punk—were for the most part raised on the same musical heros as their counterparts in any Western country. Yet, straddling the seam of many cultures and religions produces a unique sound. Lively Hebrew-language internet forums on even the most esoteric music, keep audiences and musicians engaged in dialogue. With more and more indie labels and more access to foreign labels, Israel’s vast underground scene is rapidly emerging to light.

The pulsating music scene in Israel was described by a European journalist as a “community, rather than a genre” as the size, geographical isolation, and general high level of connectivity of the country bring all types of musicians together. Visiting artists of every sort are enthusiastically welcomed in sold-out concerts, from big names like Sting, Black Eyed Peas, U2 and Yo Yo Ma to the lesser known Regina Spektor and Black Lips.

Music high schools, or high schools with strong music programs, attract and train young musicians. There are over forty conservatories, dozens of opportunities to study music on a tertiary level, and even a growing number of degree programs for music teachers and music therapists. For amateurs, over 150 choirs with professional directors (outside of educational frameworks) practice and perform traditional Israeli folk, classical and popular music in a variety of languages.

In today’s global world, where people wear their musical hearts on their ringtones, and every type of music can be heard coming from the same house, the ‘Voice of Israel’ is determined by just the fact that it is Israel singing.

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