The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance (), is a school for the music and the performing arts in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. It is located on the

Givat Ram Givat Ram () is a neighborhood in central Jerusalem. It is the site of Kiryat HaMemshala (Hebrew language, Hebrew: קריית הממשלה, ''lit.'' Government complex), which includes many of Israel's most important national institutions, among t ...

campus of the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...

History

The Jerusalem Conservatory of Music was founded in August 1933 by violinist Emil Hauser, who served as its first director. His wife, Helena Kagan, a pioneer of pediatric medicine in pre-state Israel, was honorary secretary in 1938–1946. The principal of the school was Yocheved Dostorevsky, a pianist who

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

to Jerusalem from Vienna. Israeli composer

Josef Tal Josef Tal (; September 18, 1910 – August 25, 2008) was an Israeli composer. He wrote three Hebrew operas; four German operas, dramatic scenes; six symphonies; 13 concerti; chamber music, including three string quartets; instrumental works; ...

headed the academy in 1948–52. Classes were held at a building on the corner of Kikar Zion in the center of Jerusalem. As the number of students rose, the school moved to rented premises, the Schmidt building, on Hillel Street. In 1958, Samuel Rubin, president of the Norman Foundation (now the America-Israel Cultural Foundation), donated a large sum of money to purchase a building on Smolenskin Street in Jerusalem's

Rehavia Rehavia or Rechavia (, ) is an upscale neighbourhood in Jerusalem. It is bordered by Nachlaot and Sha'arei Hesed to the north, Talbiya and Kiryat Shmuel, Jerusalem, Kiryat Shmuel to the south, and the Valley of the Cross to the west. Rehavia was ...

neighborhood. The inauguration took place in the presence of

Golda Meir Golda Meir (; 3 May 1898 – 8 December 1978) was the prime minister of Israel, serving from 1969 to 1974. She was Israel's first and only female head of government. Born into a Jewish family in Kyiv, Kiev, Russian Empire (present-day Ukraine) ...

Teddy Kollek Theodor "Teddy" Kollek (; 27 May 1911 – 2 January 2007) was an Israeli politician who served as the mayor of Jerusalem from 1965 to 1993, and founder of the Jerusalem Foundation. Kollek was re-elected five times, in 1969, 1973, 1978 Jerusalem ...

and other dignitaries. At the ceremony, the school was renamed the Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem. That same year, the Academy library was established under the leadership of Claude Abravanel. During his 35 years as director, the library collected books, journals, scores, first editions and the like. The collection now resides in the Academy's library and in the Israeli music archives, founded in 1988. Edith Gerson-Kiwi, an ethnomusicologist specializing in the ethnic music of the oriental Jewish communities of Palestine and Israel, taught music history there in 1942. With the encouragement of Emil Hauser, she established the Phonograph Archives of the Palestine Institute of Folklore and Ethnology and the academy's collection of ethnic musical instruments. In 1965,

Hassia Levy-Agron Hassia Levy-Agron (; 2 December 192322 August 2001) was an Israeli dancer, choreographer, and educator. Early life Hassia Levy was born in Jerusalem on 2 December 1923, to Elisheva Rivlin and Hayyim Leib Levy, a board member of the Anglo-Palest ...

, a pioneer of dance in Israel, established the school's dance department. Israeli conductor

Mendi Rodan Mendi Rodan (; 17 April 1929 – 9 May 2009) was an Israeli conductor and educator. Biography Mendi Rodan (Rosenblum) was born in Iaşi, Romania, one of three children of Solomon and Miriam Rosenblum. Mendi began playing the violin at the age of ...

headed the school from 1984–93.

Degrees

Today the school has a faculty of 160, and over 600 students. The academy is an independent institution recognized by the

Council for Higher Education in Israel The Council for Higher Education in Israel (, ''HaMo'atza LeHaskala Gevoha'') is a supervisory body for universities and colleges in Israel. It is the only organization with the authority to award academic educational accreditation. The head of th ...

, but also collaborates with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The school has a Faculty of the

Performing Arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which involve the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. P ...

, a Faculty of Composition, Conducting and Music Education, and a Faculty of Dance, Movement and Movement Notation. *

Bachelor of Music A Bachelor of Music (BMus; sometimes conferred as Bachelor of Musical Arts) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. The degree may be awarded for performance, music ed ...

(B. Mus.). *

Bachelor of Education A Bachelor of Education (B.Ed. or BEd) is an undergraduate academic degree which prepares students for work as a teacher in schools. A Bachelor of Education program typically lasts three to four years and combines both coursework and practical exp ...

in Music (B. Ed. Mus.). * Bachelor of Dance (B. Dance) in conjunction with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. * Master of Arts in Music (M. A. Mus.) in conjunction with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

High school

The Academy High School is situated in the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Building in

, adjacent to the Academy's main building. Founded in the late 1960s, the curriculum combines general studies with specialization in music and dance.

Summer programs

The academy runs an annual two-week program called the ''International Summer Institute for Strings''.

Conservatory

The Conservatory offers individual and group instruction in music and dance for students from the age of five. Students attend special workshops and master classes taught by the Academy's senior lecturers, and perform as soloists and in ensembles in Israel and overseas. Over 700 students are currently studying at the Conservatory.

Notable alumni

Ofir Ben Shitrit Ofir Ben Shitrit (; born 20 December 1995) is an Israeli Orthodox Jewish singer. She came to prominence in 2013 as a contestant on the reality singing competition ''The Voice Israel''. She received additional media attention due to her religious b ...

(born 1995), singer *

David Bizic David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Damas ...

(born 1975), operatic baritone *

Natan Brand Natan Brand (; 1944 – December 6, 1990) was an Israeli classical pianist. Biography Brand was the son of a doctor, Aron Brand, and his wife, Mala, Polish Jews who immigrated to Mandate Palestine days before the Nazi invasion of Poland in 1 ...

(1944–90), classical pianist *

Drora Bruck Drora Bruck (; born December 31, 1966, in Haifa, Israel) is an Israeli recorder player. Biography Drora Bruck graduated from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, where she studied with Michael Meltzer, for her BMus which was obtained in ...

(born 1966), recorder player *

David D'Or David D'Or (; born David Nehaisi on October 2, 1965) is an Israeli singer, composer, and songwriter. A countertenor with a vocal range of more than four octaves, he is a three-time winner of the Israeli "Singer of the Year" and "Best Vocal Perf ...

(born 1965), singer, composer, and songwriter *

Noga Erez Noga Erez (; born 26 December 1989) is an Israeli musician. Early life Noga Erez was born on December 26, 1989, in Tel Aviv, Israel, and grew up in the coastal town of Caesarea from the age of six. Erez began studying music as a child, learn ...

(born 1989), singer *

Riki Guy Riki Guy (; born c. 1975) is an Israeli full-lyric soprano. Education Riki Guy graduated from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance in 1997. Awards Scholarships and awards include the Israel Vocal Arts Institute scholarships America Isr ...

(born c. 1975), full-lyric soprano *

Gilad Atzmon Gilad Atzmon (, ; born 9 June 1963) is an Israeli-born British saxophonist, novelist, political activist, and writer. As a musician, he is best known as a saxophonist and bandleader. His instruments include the saxophone, accordion, clarinet ...

(born 1963), jazz saxophonist and academic * Nurit Hirsch (born 1942), composer, arranger, and conductor * Walter Hautzig (born 1921), classical pianist *

Daniella Kertesz Daniella Kertesz (; born ) is an Israeli actress. She played Segen in the film ''World War Z'', and starred as Onie in the psychological thriller film '' AfterDeath''. She played a starring role as Racheli Warburg in Season 3 of the internationa ...

(born 1989), actress *Tamar Lalo (born 1989), recorder player *

Naomi Shemer Naomi Shemer (; July 13, 1930 – June 26, 2004) was a leading Israeli musician and songwriter, hailed as the "first lady of Israeli song and poetry." Her song " Yerushalayim Shel Zahav" ("Jerusalem of Gold"), written in 1967, became an unoffic ...

(1930–2004), songwriter *

Robert Starer Robert Starer (8 January 1924 in Vienna – 22 April 2001 in Kingston, New York) was an Austrian-born American composer, pianist and educator. Robert Starer began studying the piano at age 4 and continued his studies at the Vienna State Academy. ...

(1924–2001), composer and pianist * Edna Stern (born 1977), pianist *

Ilan Volkov Ilan Volkov (; born September 8, 1976, Tel Aviv) is an Israeli orchestral conductor, who has been chief conductor and guest conductor of a number of orchestras. Biography Volkov's father, Alexander Volkov, was a concert pianist. He studied with t ...

(born 1976), orchestral conductor *

Yitzhak Yedid Yitzhak Yedid (; born 29 September 1971) is an Israeli-Australian composer of contemporary classical music. He is also a pianist and an educator. The recipient of numerous awards, Yedid is an Azrieli Prize Laureate in Jewish Music, a Laureat ...

(born 1971), Israeli-Australian composer of classical music and jazz pianist *

Lior Rosner Lior Rosner is an Israeli-born film, TV and classical music composer, conductor, and theme branding expert. Rosner created the theme for ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show''. He was a nominee for an International Film Music Critics Association nominee a ...

(born 1969), Israeli-American composer of classical music and film music

References

External links

Interview with Michael Melzer, vice president of the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance
{{authority control Music schools in Israel Educational institutions established in 1958 Culture of Israel 1958 establishments in Israel