Michael Yaaran (; ) also known as Mikhail Obezchikov is an Israeli musician and was the leader of the

Israel Defense Forces Orchestra The Israel Defense Forces Orchestra ( he, תזמורת צה"ל; Tizmoret Tzahal) is the main musical ensemble of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It comprises musicians and singers who have passed the auditions before enlistment into the IDF, mos ...

from 2003 to 2013. He is responsible for more than 300 arrangements that are in the band's archives.

Biography

An Israeli Defense Forces band plays the U

Yaaran was born in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

in 1952 and was raised in the city of Bender,

Moldovan SSR The Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic ( ro, Republica Sovietică Socialistă Moldovenească, Moldovan Cyrillic: ) was one of the 15 republics of the Soviet Union which existed from 1940 to 1991. The republic was formed on 2 August 1940 ...

. He grew up to a Jewish family, who encouraged him to have a musical education. During his childhood, Yaaran began to learn many musical instruments, mainly the accordion. In his youth, he was enlisted in the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

and served in the Headquarters Band of the

Odessa Military District The Odesa Military District (russian: Одесский военный округ, ОВО; , abbreviated ) was a military administrative division of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In 1998 most of its territory was transformed into the Southern Operat ...

. He received his musical education at the Vernadsky State Conservatory in Kishinev and at the

University of Tel Aviv Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...

following his move to Israel. Once he moved to

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 ...

, Yaaran began his military service in the IDF in mid-1970s, eventually joining the IDF Band as one of the assistant conductors. During that time, Yaaran led the band during the state visits of many leaders to

, including American Presidents

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

and

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

during their visits in 1979 and 1998 respectively. He was appointed as the bandmaster of the IDF Band in 2003, serving for 10 years until his retirement in 2013.

Personal life

He currently lives in

Rishon LeZion Rishon LeZion ( he, רִאשׁוֹן לְצִיּוֹן , ''lit.'' First to Zion, Arabic: راشون لتسيون) is a city in Israel, located along the central Israeli coastal plain south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan ar ...

and is currently married. He also has 2 grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yaaran, Michael 1952 births Israel Defense Forces Orchestra conductors Israeli musicians Israeli Jews People from Bender, Moldova Israeli people of Moldovan-Jewish descent Living people 21st-century conductors (music) Israeli military musicians

Biography

Personal life

See also

References