Avior Byron () is an Israeli singer songwriter and

musicologist Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...

Biography

Avior Byron was born in

Petah Tikva Petah Tikva (, ), also spelt Petah Tiqwa and known informally as Em HaMoshavot (), is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews of the Old Y ...

, Raz Israeli
“Against the wind; meet the first religious protest singer”

nrg Maariv ''Maariv'' () is a Hebrew-language daily newspaper published in Israel. From Sunday to Thursday, it is printed under the ''Ma'ariv Hashavu'a'' () brand, while the weekend edition that is out on Friday is called ''Ma'ariv SofHashavu'a'' (). ...

, July 7, 2015 and grew up in

Yavne Yavne () is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel. In 2022, it had a population of 56,232. Modern Yavne was established in 1949. It is located near the ruins of the ancient town of Yibna (known also as Jamnia and Jab ...

. From the age of ten he studied classical piano, and from thirteen learnt rock and

jazz guitar Jazz guitar may refer to either a type of electric guitar or a guitar playing style in jazz, using Guitar amplifier, electric amplification to increase the volume of acoustic guitars. In the early 1930s, jazz musicians sought to amplify their ...

. At the age of fifteen, he had a band, in which he was the composer, the singer and the guitarist. Ohad Tzoik
“Doctor of music”
Yavne Net (newspaper) November 14, 2014 Amira Morag
“To Ruth, with love”
Lahiton, May 20, 2015 He started to study at

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

, and he graduated with a B.A. in musicology and orchestration. Avior has a doctorate in music from

Royal Holloway, University of London Royal Holloway, University of London (RH), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public university, public research university and a constituent college, member institution of the federal University of London. It ...

. Yitzhak Tessler
“To sing it in pain: The first religious protest singer”
ynet May 19, 2015 Biography in violinist.com web site

His tutor for the doctorate was Prof. John Rink, and the subject of his thesis was "

Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian and American composer, music theorist, teacher and writer. He was among the first modernists who transformed the practice of harmony in 20th-century classical music, ...

as a performer:

esthetics Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy,'' , acces ...

in practice". In 2001 Byron became religious; from 2011–2016 he studied literature,

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

, philosophy and Hebrew poetry in the friends' program of "Alma – Home for Hebrew Culture". At the conclusion of their studies, the students were asked to prepare works of art, and Byron composed songs, some of which appear in his debut album. In 2015, he issued a mini-album "Songs for Zipporah", which is composed of five songs; Yuval Messner produced the album. The subject matter of the songs is the social protest, tolerance, and accepting the other, Israeli and Jewish identity. The texts contain dialogues with Jewish sources. Raz Israeli
“A woman of valour; religious protest singer supports Women of the Wall”

, February 9, 2016 The

melodies A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of pitch and rhythm, while more figuratively, the term ca ...

, and style of playing are influenced by classical music, rock,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

Folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

and alternative tuning of the guitar. “Ruth is waiting", is a protest song about the imperviousness of the religious establishment towards those who wish to convert to Judaism Interview with Avior Byron
(interviewer: Idan Kveller), on the program “ Erev Hadash",

Israeli Educational Television The Israeli Educational Television (IETV), informally known as Chinuchit, was a state-owned public terrestrial television network which used to concentrate on producing and broadcasting programs for school children. The first Israeli children's ...

Shavuot (, from ), or (, in some Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi usage), is a Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday, one of the biblically ordained Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan; in the 21st century, it may ...

, May 21, 2015. (from 29.08 min.) Judy Maltz
"A Singer With a Blunt Message for Israel: Don’t Mess With Converts"
in Haaretz, July 22, 2015 “Zipporah" is a love song to his wife. “In the streets of the city" is a song about a woman from

biblical The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

times, who lives on the edge of society, and criticizes the status of women in the past and in the present. "Signs on sand" is a love song to his children, and talks of the heritage that we leave them. “Ruth is waiting" was the song chosen from the album to be played on the radio. Other songs were also posted on various web sites. The media have called Byron: “The First Religious Protest Singer”. Since 2014, Byron has been appearing throughout Israel with the songs from the album, and others that he has written and set to music. In February 2016, he signed a contract with “Banana Disc” for the distribution of “Songs for Zipporah”. Byron has published articles in musicology journals, including "

Music Theory Online The Society for Music Theory (SMT) is an American organization devoted to the promotion, development and engagement of music theory as a scholarly and pedagogical discipline. Founded in 1977 by a group of distinguished theorists, among them Alle ...

". He specializes in the following fields: Research into musical performance, theory and analysis, twentieth century music. Currently Byron is working on a book, on

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian and American composer, music theorist, teacher and writer. He was among the first Modernism (music), modernists who transformed the practice of harmony in 20th-centu ...

, to be published by

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

. Byron course at Alma site
He has written a number of articles for Nrg and

Ynet Ynet (stylized in all lowercase) is an Israeli news and general-content website, and the online outlet for the '' Yedioth Ahronoth'' newspaper. History Ynet launched on June 6, 2000, in Hebrew, following other Hebrew outlet's website launches ...

. He worked as a lecturer at

Bar-Ilan University Bar-Ilan University (BIU, , ''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 academic university institution. It has 20,000 ...

. In 2013, he taught at "Alma – Home for Hebrew Culture", and since 2014, he has been lecturing at

Achva Academic College Achva Academic College is a public academic institution located within the jurisdiction of Beer Tuvia Regional Council. Achva Academic College offers accredited undergraduate and graduate programs in various fields such as science, education, ...

. He is CEO of "Byron Seminars", a company for translations, and teaching languages, which was founded by his parents in 1987. Avior Byron lives in

Mazkeret Batya Mazkeret Batya () (lit. "Batya Memorial") is a local council in central Israel located southeast of Rehovot and from Tel Aviv. Mazkeret Batya spans an area of 7,440 dunams (7 km2). In it had a population of . The mayor of Mazkeret Batya i ...

with his wife and their three children. They belong to the "Keshet" congregation there. Avior Byron article in Keshet magazine

Sources

External links

Avior Byron’s web site, as a singer and composer

Avior Byron’s Official YouTube Page

Byron’s musicology site

Byron album in Ba-nana disc in bandcamp
{{DEFAULTSORT:Byron, Avior 1973 births Living people 21st-century Israeli male singers Israeli male singer-songwriters Israeli singer-songwriters Israeli rock singers Israeli musicologists Baalei teshuva People from Yavne

Biography

See also

Sources

External links