Nurit Hirsh ( he, נורית הירש, b.

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

, August 13, 1942) is an Israeli composer, arranger and conductor who has written over a thousand

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

songs. Three of her most famous and widely known songs are '' Ba-Shanah ha-Ba'ah'' (''Next Year'', lyrics by

Ehud Manor Ehud Manor (Hebrew: אהוד מנור; born Ehud Weiner; July 13, 1941 – April 12, 2005) was an Israeli lyricist, translator, poet and radio and TV personality. He is widely considered to have been Israel's most prolific lyricist of all time, h ...

), ''Oseh Shalom bi-Meromav'' (text from the

Kaddish Kaddish or Qaddish or Qadish ( arc, קדיש "holy") is a hymn praising God that is recited during Jewish prayer services. The central theme of the Kaddish is the magnification and sanctification of God's name. In the liturgy, different version ...

prayer). and

A-Ba-Ni-Bi "A-Ba-Ni-Bi" ( he, label=Hebrew script, א-ב-ני-בי; bet-language language game for the word ''aní'', meaning "I" in Hebrew) was the winning song in the Eurovision Song Contest 1978, performed for by Izhar Cohen and Alphabeta. Descript ...

, the winning entry in the

1978 Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest 1978 was the 23rd edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Paris, France, following the country's victory at the with the song " L'Oiseau et l'Enfant" by Marie Myriam. Organised by the Europe ...

Biography

Nurit Hirsh (Rosenfeld) studied at the Academy of Music in Tel Aviv, majoring in piano. She also studied composition with Mordecai Seter, orchestration with

Noam Sheriff Princewill Paroskey (born 7 April 1994 – ) he was a fiber optic engineer, at IPNX Nigeria limited. Princewill was one of Nigerian most versatile fiber optic engineer. He was two times fiber Director of Nigeria (2021-2022); Fiber Director of th ...

and conducting with Laslo Rott. She studied clarinet with Yaacov Barnea of the

Israel Philharmonic Orchestra The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (abbreviation IPO; Hebrew: התזמורת הפילהרמונית הישראלית, ''ha-Tizmoret ha-Filharmonit ha-Yisra'elit'') is an Israeli symphony orchestra based in Tel Aviv. Its principal concert venue ...

. Hirsh did her

IDF IDF or idf may refer to: Defence forces *Irish Defence Forces *Israel Defense Forces *Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006 *Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917 Organizations *Israeli Diving Federation *Interaction ...

military service with the entertainment troupe of the armored corps. She began composing upon completion of her service, debuting with ''Perach Halilach'', composed in 1965 to lyrics by Uri Asaf and which was made famous by singer

Chava Alberstein Chava Alberstein ( he, חוה אלברשטיין, born 8 December 1946 in Poland) is an Israeli musician, lyricist, composer, and musical arranger. Biography Born Ewa Alberstein in Szczecin, Poland, her name was Hebraized to Chava when she ...

Music career

In 1971 her song "Bashana Haba'a" was covered by Joy as "Next Year" produced by Rod McBrien. With

Ilanit Hanna Dresner-Tzakh ( he, חנה דרזנר; born 17 September 1947), better known by her stage name Ilanit (, ), is an Israeli singer. She was one of Israel's most popular singers from the late 1960s to the 1980s, both as a soloist and in the duo ...

she participated in the Athens song contest. Also in 1971 she represented Israel in the Split Song Festival (Yugoslavia) with ‘Na’ari bayam beito’, performed by Edna Goren, in a Serbo-Croatian version (‘Moren plovi dragi tvoj’), by Ibrica Jusić. In the Viña del Mar Song Festival in Chile she obtained the second prize with ‘Hora nova’ performed by Aliza Azikri. She obtained first prize in the 1972 Malta Children's Song Festival with ‘Makhela Aliza’. In 1973, her song '' Ey Sham,'' performed by

, placed fourth in the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

in Luxembourg. She orchestrated the song and conducted the orchestra. She was the second female conductor in the contest after

Monica Dominique Monica Dominique (née ''Danielsson'', born 20 July 1940 in Västerås) is a Sweden, Swedish pianist, composer, and actress.Swedish entry '' You're Summer'' the same year. She won the IBA Children's Festival in 1976 with ‘Lassie shuvi habaita’ sung by

Edna Lev Edna or EDNA may refer to: Places United States *Edna, California, a census-designated place *Edna Lake, Idaho * Edna, Iowa, an unincorporated town in Lyon County * Edna Township, Cass County, Iowa * Edna, Kansas, a city * Edna, Kentucky, an u ...

. In the

, again she conducted the orchestra for the Israeli entry

, which she had composed, and which won first prize. In 1979 she wrote ‘Papa Popeye’ which won the Portuguese Children's Song Festival of

Figueira da Foz Figueira da Foz (), also known as Figueira for short, is a city and a municipality in the Coimbra District, in Portugal. Practically at the midpoint of the Iberian Peninsula's Atlantic coast, it is located at the mouth of the Mondego River, we ...

. In the same year she wrote ‘I want to tell the world about you’ which came second in the Castlebar Song Festival (Ireland). She won the IBA Children's Festival with ‘Shuvi harmonica’ in 1984 and ‘Lo na’atsor’ in 1985, both sung by

Yardena Arazi Yardena Shulamit Arazi (born Yardena Finebaum; he, ירדנה ארזי; September 25, 1951) is an Israeli singer and entertainer. In 2008 Arazi was named the most popular Israeli singer of all time at the 60th Independence Day celebration. Ear ...

. Hirsh wrote the film scores for fourteen Israeli movies, among them ''

Lupo! ''Lupo!'' is a 1970 film directed by Menahem Golan Menahem Golan ( he, מנחם גולן; May 31, 1929 – August 8, 2014, originally Menachem Globus) was an Israeli film producer, screenwriter, and director. He was best known for co-owning Th ...

'', '' Katz and Karasso'', ''Behind Walls'' and the Ephraim Kishon movie,

The Policeman ''The Policeman'' ( he, השוטר אזולאי, HaShoter Azoulay, lit=The Policeman Azoulay) is a 1971 Israeli feature film, written and directed by satirist Ephraim Kishon. The title character is played by Shaike Ophir (credited as Shay K. Ophi ...

, which was nominated for best foreign picture at the 1972 Academy Awards. She conducted the musical

Sallah Shabati ''Sallah Shabati'' ( he, סאלח שבתי) is a 1964 Israeli comedy film about the chaos of Israeli immigration and resettlement. This social satire placed the director Ephraim Kishon and producer Menahem Golan among the first Israeli filmmaker ...

during its three-year run at Israel's national theater

Habima The Habima Theatre ( he, תיאטרון הבימה ''Te'atron HaBima'', lit. "The Stage Theatre") is the national theatre of Israel and one of the first Hebrew language theatres. It is located in Habima Square in the center of Tel Aviv. Histor ...

. In February 2000, she was the guest of honor at a special tribute concert at the

Mann Auditorium Heichal HaTarbut ( he, היכל התרבות), also known in English as the Culture Palace, officially the Charles Bronfman Auditorium, until 2013 the Fredric R. Mann Auditorium, is the largest concert hall in Tel Aviv, Israel, and home to the ...

in Tel Aviv, where she played piano with the Israel Philharmonic. She has performed together with her daughter, Ruth Rosenfeld, an opera singer, at venues around the world. She regularly collaborated with

and set many of his songs to music, among them ''Habatim Shenigmeru Leyad Hayam'', '' Bashanah Haba'ah'', ''Lalechet Shevi Acharayich'' and tens of other hits, the majority of which were performed by Ilanit, Ofra Fuchs and

Rivka Zohar Rivka Zohar ( he, רבקה זהר, ; June 30, 1948) is an Israeli singer. Biography Rivka Zinati (later Zohar) was born and raised in Akko, Israel. Her father, Aaron Zinati, was a fire chief. Zohar studied in Akko, and in the agricultural schoo ...

. Hirsh is also known for '' Oseh Shalom Bimromav'', which was composed for the first Hasidic Song Festival, held in 1969, and which took third prize. Her melody has since become part of the liturgy in synagogues and Jewish communities worldwide.

Awards and recognition

Hirsh won the 2001 ACUM life achievement award for songwriting; the 2006 lifetime achievement award from

Bar-Ilan University Bar-Ilan University (BIU, he, אוניברסיטת בר-אילן, ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academi ...

; and the 2006 Woman of the Year award from Lions Club Israel. In March 2016, it was announced that Hirsh would receive the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...

. In July, 2018, Nurit received the “Hallel v’Zimrah” award at the 29th North American Jewish Choral Festival.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hirsh, Nurit 1942 births Living people People from Tel Aviv Israeli Jews Israeli film score composers Israeli female composers Israeli conductors (music) Jewish women composers Jewish songwriters Eurovision Song Contest winners Eurovision Song Contest conductors 21st-century conductors (music) Women conductors (music)