FORUM

From Ori Kam's official website, OriKam.com:

ORI KAM - VIOLA

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 every orchestra in Israel, the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, the New Jersey Symphony, the Manhattan Philharmonia, and Sinfonia Varsovia to name a few.

Mr. Kam is a frequent recitalist and has performed extensively throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Israel. His recital appearance 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 is the violist of the Jerusalem Quartet. Independently. he has collaborated with artists such as Daniel Barenboim, Isaac Stern, Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Pierre Boulez, Gil Shaham, and Emmanuel Pahud. He has performed with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and was guest artist in the numerous festivals including Salzburg, Verbier, Tangelwood, Aspen, Santa-Fe, Schleswig-Holstein, La Jolla, the Schubertiade, and the Jerusalem Chamber Music Festival to name a few.

Mr. Kam was born in La Jolla, California, and grew up between the United States and 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 concluded his studies with Wilfried Strehle at the University for the arts in Berlin. Mr. Kam has been the winner of several awards and prizes including The Swiss Prize at the Geneva Int'l Music Competition, The "Pagannini" Prize in the Int'l Lionel Tertis Competition, and in '95 was the winner of the concerto competition at the Manhattan School of Music. From 1990 to 2000, he has been a recipient of scholarships from the America-Israel Culture Foundation.Before joining the Jerusalem Quartet, he was a member of the Berlin Philharmonic, and is now on the faculty of the Geneva University of Music.

In 2007, He released his first commercial recording under the "Berlin Classics" label of the Bruch Double concerto for viola and clarinet by Max Bruch, which he recorded with his sister Sharon. He can also be heard on the Naxos Label, AVI-Music, and on Harmonia Mundi, which exclusively records the Jerusalem Quartet. A DVD of Pierre Boulez's chamber works conducted by the composer and Daniel Barenboim will be released in 2013.

Ori Kam plays a viola made in 2009 by Hiroshi Iizuka.

September 2012