Ori Kam

viola

Recently hailed by the New York Times as "an attractive, engaging presence on stage," violist Ori Kam has performed as soloist on some of the world's premier stages. After his debut at the age of 16 with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Zubin Mehta, he was immediately re-engaged. Since then, he has performed with virtually every orchestra in Israel, the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, the New Jersey Symphony at the new NJ Performing Arts Center, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, the Manhattan Philharmonia, and Sinfonia Varsovia.

Mr. Kam is a frequent recitalist and has performed extensively throughout the US, Europe, and Israel. His recital appearances at the Louvre Museum in Paris, France, and at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital hall, received reviews such as "(Kam is) a rare viola soloist," and "Mr. Kam's playing (was) at once mature and youthfully exuberant."

As an avid performer of chamber music, Mr. Kam has collaborated with artists such as Isaac Stern, Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Gil Shaham, Paul Neubauer, Bernard Greenhouse, Lynn Harrel, David Geringas and the Saint Lawrence String Quartet. He has performed with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and was guest artist in the Verbier (Switzerland) festival in '97 and '98. From 1990 to 1996, he appeared regularly in the Banhoff Rolandseck Music Festival in Bonn, Germany, and has also participated in the Tangelwood, Santa-Fe and Schleswig-Holstein Music Festivals to name a few.

Mr. Kam was born in La Jolla, CA in 1975, and grew up in Israel. He started his musical Education at the age of 6, and began playing the viola at 15. In Israel, he studied with Renowned Teacher Chaim Taub, and between 1994 and 1997, studied with Pinchas Zukerman and Patinka Kopec at the Manhattan School of Music in New York. Later, he studied with Wilfried Strehle at the Universität der Künste in Berlin. Mr. Kam was the winner of the Swiss Prize at the Geneva International Music Competition, the "Paganinni Prize" at the International Tertis Competition, and in '95, he won the concerto competition at the Manhattan School of Music. Between 1990 and 2000, he was a recipient of scholarships from the America-Israel Culture Foundation.

Mr. Kam has recorded for National Public Radio in the US, the Frankfurt, Munich, and Hamburg Radio Houses in Germany, the Radio de la Suisse Romande in Switzerland, France Musique in France, and the Israeli Radio. This fall, he released his first commercial recording for Berlin Classics of the Bruch Concerto for Viola, Clarinet and orchestra with his Sister, Sharon.

www.orikam.com

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