Wolpe Michael

Born in Tel Aviv in 1960, Michael Wolpe studied composition at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and at Cambridge University in England. He earned a Ph.D. in music, writing about "the British Symphony in the Mid-20th Century" under the direction of Yehoash Hirshberg of the Hebrew University. Among his teachers were Tzvi Avni, Haim Alexander, and Mark Kopytman. At this writing, he teaches at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, where he serves as the head of the composition and conducting departments. Wolpe was the founder of the music track in the Israel Arts and Science Academy in Jerusalem, and taught there alongside Andre Hajdu. Between 2005 and 2011 he also served as the artistic director of the Days of Israeli Music Festival. Michael Wolpe joined Kibbutz Sde Boker years ago, and has dedicated himself to musical activity in the region. Among other projects, he founded the "Sounds in the Desert" festival, dedicated to original Israeli music, held annually during Chanukah in Ramat Hanegev. Wolpe is a prolific composer and a well-known conductor. His work encompasses a wide variety of genres: symphonic, chamber, vocal, and dramatic. Much of his work takes its inspiration from Hebrew religious texts and from contemporary Israeli poetry. Wolpe conducted several choir and the kibbutz orchestra for a number of years. His music is performed in important venues worldwide, and many of his works have been recorded and broadcast on Kol Hamusica. Wolpe has received several awards including the ACUM Lifetime Achievement Award for music in 2009, the Composers' Union Award, and the Prime Minister's Award for Composers twice, in 1997 and 2013.