The Musicians

The Israel Camerata Jerusalem

Music Director and Conductor : Avner Biron

First Violin

Carmela Leiman **

Carmela Leiman was born in Lithuania and immigrated to Israel in 1972. She studied and completed her Bachelor's and Master's degrees with honors at the Tel Aviv Music Academy under Felix Andrievski, Ilona Feher and Yair Kless. As a member of the “Gertler Quartet” she has performed in the U.S.A, Spain, England, France and Germany. In the recent years Carmela took part in many chamber music productions in Israel, as well as the recording of three albums: Israeli Clarinet Quintets with Eli Heifetz, and two CDs dedicated to the music of the Theresienstadt concentration camp. As of 1990 she is the Associate Principal violinist of the Israel Camerata Jerusalem.
Matan Dagan *

Matan Dagan began his violin studies with Nava Milo, Ora Shiran and Irena Svetlova. After his military service as an Outstanding Musician, he went to study at the Berlin University of Arts. Matan graduated his bachelor's degree with honors.

During the decade from 2002 to 2012 he served as the leading violinist of the Oriol Ensemble in Berlin and in the Kammerakademie orchestra of Potsdam.

In recent years, Matan moved most of his life back to Israel. He became the first violinist of the Tel Aviv Soloists Ensemble and participated as a guest soloist with the Israeli Chamber Project.

At the beginning of 2013 Matan Dagan joined the Israel Camerata Jerusalem as the Principal Violinst.
Natasha Sher *

Natasha Sher moved to Israel from Moscow in 1990, and since then appeared as soloist with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Israel Camerata Jerusalem, Israel Chamber Orchestra and others, as well as with various chamber ensembles throughout the country and abroad, including London, Paris, Frankfurt, Milan and Japan.

Natasha graduated from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, studying with Prof. Maya Glizarova and Prof. Yuri Gandelsman. She is a founding member of “Erato” String Trio.

Today Natasha serves as the orchestra's Principal Violinst.
Roman Yusupov

Violinist Roman Yusupov was born in 1966 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan (former USSR). He acquired his musical education at the Tchaikovsky Music Academy in Moscow and after immigrating to Israel, in 1990, at the Tel Aviv University Music Academy. Since immigrating to Israel Roman played with "Olim"-Symphony Orchestra and the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. In 2005 he joined the Camerata.
Michael Pavia
Piotr Bobrovsky

Petr Bobrovsky was born in 1980 in Moscow in a family of rich musical traditions. He began studying violin at the age of 5 at the Central School of Music under Galina Turchaninova, and graduated in 2003 from Tchaikovsky Conservatoire (Fedotov and Kravchenko). Petr played with Russian National Philharmonic Orchestra (Vladimir Spivakov) and State Academic Symphony Orchestra (Evgeny Svetlanov). He has moved in 2022 to Israel and right away joined the Israel Camerata.

Second Violin

Hadas Fabrikant **
Eduard Reznik *

Eduard Reznik was born in Kishinev, Moldova, in 1969. After immigrating to Israel in 1998, he studied at the Tel Aviv music Academy under Prof. Semion Yaroshevich. In 2005, after 10 years of performing with the Israel Sinfonietta Be’er-Sheva, Eddie began playing with the Israel Camerata Jerusalem for his love of Baroque music and high-quality standards of music making. Eddie is married and a father of three boys. He enjoys Jazz, Cooking and Basketball.
Omri Tzach

Omri Tzach was born in Georgia in 1957. At the age of 7 he began his violin studies under Prof. Eliashvilli. After his studies, Omri served as Principal violinist at the Georgian National Symphony Orchestra. For one season he studied under Prof. Mark Lubotsky at the Hamburg Academy and worked at the Academia Hamburg Chamber Orchestra.In 1992 he immigrated to Israel and began working at the Camerata. At the same time, he played chamber music in various trio and quartet ensembles and as a sub at the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.
Michael Kontsevich

Violinist Michael Kontsevich was born in 1952 in Kharkov, Ukraine (former USSR). He acquired his musical education at the Music Academy in his hometown. Michael played in the Symphony and Philharmonic Orchestras of Kharkov, yet in 1989 decided that it was time to move to Israel. Michael joined the Israel Camerata's second violin section. Michael also serves as the administrative manager of the orchestra.
Keren Shoshani

Keren Shoshani moved to Israel in 1999. She studied in the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, where she graduated her Master's degree under Hagai Shaham.

Keren takes part in various festivals and won first prize for chamber music in the Jerusalem Academy, as well as the America-Israel Cultural Foundation grants. Since 2008 she is a member of the Israel Camerata Jerusalem.
Smadar Schidlowsky

Smadar grew up in Berlin, Germany, where she also started playing the violin. Studying music and violin brought her to the State University of Music Stuttgart, the Guildhall School of Music London and the University of Music Frankfurt. For her musical developement she gained support of various scholarships and foundations like Yehudi Menuhin „Live Music Now“ Stuttgart and the Baden-Württemberg Stipendium. Smadar did her internship in the Frankfurter Opern- and Museumsorchester and afterwards completed her studies with the insights into the “baroque violin”. She took part in concerts, tours and festivals throughout Europe with the Freiburger Barockorchester and the Balthasar Neumann Ensemble. Since 2015 Smadar lives in Israel where she continues to play with baroque ensembles like the Israeli Baroque Collective Barrocade, the french ensemble Pygmalion at the festival Aix-en-Provence and others. In 2019 Smadar joined the 2nd violin section of the Jerusalem Camerata. Trio Obligato she founded in 2018 and its purpose is to connect different music styles in its performances.

Viola

Boris Rimmer

Boris Rimmer was born in 1977 in Kazakhstan. He began studying violin at the age of 7 at the State's Higher School of Music. After graduating he moved to Israel, and continued his violin and viola studies at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music. He performed in the Israel Young Philharmonic Orchestra and participated in numerous chamber music projects. In 2005-2006 he led the viola section of the Raanana Symphonette Orchestra and in 2006-2009 with the Israel Chamber Orchestra. As of 2009, Rimmer is a member of the Israel Camerata Jerusalem.
Eduard Shubaev
Sergei Dubov

Sergei Dubov began his violin studies at the age of 6 in Moscow. He then studied the viola

with Mikhail Terian and Yuri Bashmet at the Moscow Conservatory.

Sergei Dubov had been a member of the Russian National Orchestra since its inception, and

the principal viola since 2003. With the RNO, he toured both in Russia and around the world

under such conductors as Mikhail Pletnev, Evgeny Svetlanov, Mstislav Rostropovich,

Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Vladimir Jurowski, Charles Dutoit, Michael Tilson Thomas,

Antonio Pappano, and others. He has also been regularly invited to play with the

musicAeterna orchestra under Theodor Currentzis.

Sergei Dubov has performed with the RNO as a soloist, and has been active as a chamber

musician, collaborating with Mikhail Pletnev, Denis Matsuev, Yuri Bashmet, Alexander Rudin,

Dmitri Berlinsky, Sergei Krylov, Vanessa-Mae, and Per Arne Glorvingen. For a number of

years he was part of the Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble, premiering and recording

numerous works by contemporary composers.

He joined the Israel Camerata Jerusalem in 2022.
Shuli Waterman *

Violist Shuli Waterman was born in Haifa. She studied with Gad Lewertof at the Israel Music Academy, Tel Aviv University and continued her studies with John White at the Royal Academy of Music in London. She was the First Prize winner of the "Theodore Holland" Viola Competition at the Royal Academy. She returned to Israel to complete her studies with Yuri Gandelsman at the Israel Music Academy, where she was awarded the Daniel Binyamini viola scholarship.

Shuli was the violist of the Aviv Quartet, with whom she played for twelve years. The quartet won the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition, and was a top prize winner at the Bordeaux String Quartet Competition. As a member of the Aviv Quartet, she studied under the guidance of the Alban Berg Quartet in Cologne, Germany, and with the Ysaÿe Quartet in Paris, with whom she recorded the Beethoven Quintets, and performed the Mozart Quintets in Israel, London, Paris and Italy. Shuli is principal violist of the Israel Camerata Jerusalem Orchestra
Natanel Laevsky *

Natanel Laevsky started studying the violin at the age of 7 with Simon Ostrovsky and continued his studies in Israel with Ludmila Feldman. Natanel is a graduate of the Thelma Yellin High School of the Arts and the Jerusalem Music Center. He completed his graduate studies at the Manhattan School of Music in New York under Patinka Kopec and Pinchas Zuckerman.

Since his years at the JMC, during which he was the violist of the Goldman Quartet, Natanel has appeared in many concerts and chamber festivals in Israel, Europe, North America and Japan, and has played with renowned artists including the Jerusalem Quartet, violinists Sergei Ostrovsky and Peter Winograd (American String Quartet), cellists Zvi Plesser and Michal Korman and pianist William Wolfram.

Natanel has been a recipient of the America-Israel Cultural Foundation since 2013 and the Ronen Foundation since 2015. He currently plays a Zygmuntowicz viola from 1987, generously lent to him by the AICF.

In 2023 Natanel joined the Israel Camerata Jerusalem Orchestra as principal violist.

Cello

Zvi Orleansky *

Cellist Zvi Orleansky was born in Israel in 1973. He began his cello studies at the age of 8 with Marcel Bergmann. Orleansky holds a Bachelor's degree from the Tel Aviv Israeli Academy of Music, and an Artist Diploma from the Piano Trios program of the New England Conservatory in Boston. He performed as a soloist with the Israel Symphony Orchestra, Rishon LeZion, Ramat-Gan Chamber Orchestra, Hadera Classica Orchestra and with the Carter Symphony Orchestra, Tel Aviv University. Today Zvi is Principal Cellist of the Israel Camerata Jerusalem.
Alexander Sinelnikov **

Alexander Sinelnikov holds a PhD degree in cello performance from the Rimsky-Korsakov National Academy of Music in St. Petersburg. He taught in the same Academy, was a member of the Philharmonic Orchestra of St. Petersburg, and later a member of the Symphonic Orchestra at The Mariinsky Theatre. Alexander came to Israel in 1990, joined the Chamber Ensemble “Galilee Soloists”, and a few years later joined the Israel Camerata Jerusalem. He is and active solo and chamber music player in Israel and abroad.
Marina Katz *

Marina Katz was born in Riga, Latvia. She began her cello studies at the age of 6 at the "Emils Darzins" special music school, under the guidance of Prof. Eleonora Testeletz. As a young cellist Marina participated in many international festivals and competitions. In Israel Marina had completed her Bachelor's degree at the Tel Aviv Israeli Academy of Music and continued her Masters' degree at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance under Prof. Emanuel Gruber. Marina appeared as a soloist with many orchestras. She is currently Principal Cellist of the Israel Camerata Jerusalem.
Eshter Valladares

Esther Valladares was born in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, where she finished her high school with honors. In 2007 she received a scholarship to study cello in the USA at Washburn University, Kansas under Dr. Steven Elisha. In 2009 she continued her Bachelor's degree in Conservatory of Zaragoza, Spain under David Apellániz. In 2012 Esther performed as a soloist in the music festival of Central America (JOCCA) with concerts in Honduras. In Israel, she studied towards her Master's degree in Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance under Prof. Zvi Plesser. In 2017, Valladares joined the Israel Camerata Jerusalem.

Bass

Kirill Baykov **

Kirill Baykov was born in 1986 in Yoshkar-Ola, Mari El Republic (Northern Volga river). He’s a graduate of the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music and member of the chamber orchestra Música Viva, led by artistic director Alexander Rudin. Since 2011, member of the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra, led by Vladimir Fedoseev - opening the concert season in Musikverein Vienna. He toured across Europe and the Far East, collaborating with such artists as Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Plácido Domingo, Martha Argerich, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Mikhail Pletnev and Vladimir Yurovsky. He joined the Israel Camerata Jerusalem in 2023.

Flute

Esti Rofe *

Flutist Esti Rofe' was born in Israel in 1976. She graduated from the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music in Tel Aviv in 2000. Esti completed her Master's degree, with honors, at Munich School of Music. Esti was recorded in television networks in Israel and abroad, including Germany's South-West radio station, SWR, and the Danish radio and television. Esti Rofe' serves as the principal flutist of the Israel Camerata Jerusalem.

Oboe

Muki Zohar *

Muki Zohar was born in 1973 in Tel Aviv. He began studying oboe with Smadar Shazar. He obtained his Bachelor's degree at the Music Academy in Amsterdam under Jan Sfronk. Muki continued his graduate studies on full scholarship in the USA at the University of Minnesota under Basil Reeve. Muki has appeared as soloist with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Zubin Mehta. He participated in chamber ensembles such as Trio "Erato" and the new Israeli ensemble. Since 2000 he serves as Principal Oboist and soloist at the Israel Camerata Jerusalem. Muki plays an oboe that was purchased with the assistance of the America-Israel Cultural Foundation.
Ori Meiraz

Ori Meiraz plays the oboe & English horn in the Israel Camerata Jerusalem Orchestra since 1999. In the last few years, he moderates children and youth chamber music concerts in a project of the Ministry of Education and the Camerata.

In addition to his musical activities, Ori Meiraz works as a certified Elbaum therapist, accompanying children and adults dealing with different functional deficiencies. Ori lives in Tel Aviv with his significant other Patrice, their dogs Billy & Lalique as well as the cat Shimshon.

Clarinet

Shira Eliassaf *

Shira Eliassaf began her clarinet studies under Ilya Schwarts. She served as principal clarinettist at the IDF Orchestra and graduated from the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music at the Tel Aviv University in the clarinet class of Ron Selka and Yevgeny Yehudin. For three years in a row she won several awards in BMSOM solo playing competitions.
After graduating, Shira joined the Israeli Sinfonietta Beer Sheva as a principal Clarinettist.

As a soloist she played with the IDF Orchestra, the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music Orchestra, the Israel Chamber Orchestra and the Israeli Sinfonietta Beer Sheva.
Shira frequently plays chamber music and had recorded several times for the Israeli national radio and TV.
In addition, she played both principal and Piccolo Clarinet in an international concert tour with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under Maestro Zubin Mehta.
Between the years 1999-2007 Shira was awarded AICF scholarships.

As of 2019, she holds the position of principal Clarinettist of the Israel Camerata Jerusalem.

Bassoon

Mauricio Paez *

Mauricio Paez was born in Costa Rica. At the age of 17 he was offered the principal bassoon position at the National Symphony of Costa Rica. Since then he held principal positions in various Israeli orchestras - for a decade he performed as solo bassoonist of the New Israeli Opera Orchestra under the batons of Maazel, Mehta, Gergiev and Abbado.

As a chamber music player he has collaborated with Shlomo Mintz, Maurice Bourgue and Frank Bauman. He participated in festivals such as Schleswig-Holstein, the Red Sea Festival and Israel Festival.

Paez holds the principal Bassoon player position at the Camerata. He is also a founding member of the New Israel Woodwind Quintet and teaches at both Buchmann-Mehta School of Music, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance.

He assists people with disabilities and is active in this regard at Alut and Levinsky Collage in Tel Aviv.
Miriam Levenson

Miriam Levenson bassoon

Miriam was born in London and began her bassoon studies under Sarah Burnett. After playing with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, she went on and pursued her Bachelor's degree, with honours, from the University of Cambridge. She had then completed a Master's degree in performance at the Royal College of Music in London.

After moving to Israel with her family in 2014, Miriam began playing with the Israel Sinfonietta Beer Sheva, where she was second bassoonist until 2024 – a position she holds at the Israel Camerata Jerusalem since the 2024-2025 season.

Horn

Alon Reuven *

Alon Reuven began his horn studies at the age of 10 under Yaacov Kling. He had his solo debut at the age of 12, followed by performances as soloist with orchestras, at the President's residency and in radio and television broadcasts. Alon has performed as a chamber player in all leading chamber music series and festivals in Israel. He worked with "Villa Music" Ensemble (Germany), apart from solo playing in Israel and abroad. Alon is an active teacher, who inherits the legacy of horn performance to young and adult students alike. He plays a horn which was purchased with the assistance of America-Israel Cultural Foundation. Alon's solo CD, “Hornquest”, with soprano Keren Hadar and pianist Yoni Farhi, has been released recently by the British label "Meridian".
Michael Altshuler

Michael Altshuler was born in St. Petersburg and immigrated to Israel in 1990. He is an alumnus of the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music as well as of the University of Performing Arts in Frankfurt, Germany. Michael was a member of the Israel Symphony Orchestra from 2015 to 2021. Since 2022 he is member of the Horn section of the Israel Camerata Jerusalem.

In addition to his musical career, Michael is a licensed tour guide. The art, culture, history and archeology of Israel are his fields of interest.

Timpani and Percussion

Karen Phenpimon Zehavi *

A native of California, USA, Karen Phenpimon holds degrees in music from the University of California and State University of New York with a concentration in new music for solo percussion and percussion ensemble. She has performed as a percussionist, timpanist and drummer throughout North America, Europe, the Far East and the Middle East. Since moving to Tel Aviv in 1993, Karen has performed regularly with all major Israeli orchestras, including the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, in festivals such as the Israel Festival and Voice of Music in the Upper Galillee as well as with ensembles such as the Barrocade, Tel Aviv Soloists, Musica Nova and Israel Contemporary Players. She has recorded for American, German and Israeli Radio, CDs, feature films and documentaries.

* Principal player
** Assistant principal