ABBA

He is a cellist and teacher, born in Israel, to a family here his father is the cartoonist and illustrator Azi Katz, his mother is the sculptress Rachel London Katz, his brother Schmuel being a violist and his other brother Itamar being a graphic designer.

He was awarded a scholarship by the America Israel Cultural Foundation in 1988 and has studied at the New England Conservatory on a Piatigorsky Scholarship.

Winning several awards and prizes through his career he has been the recipient of the first prize at Tel Aviv’s Rubin Academy Competition and the Hudson Valley Philharmonic Competition. As a Ranglewood Music Center Fello he has won the Karl Zeise Prize and has also been presented with Boston’s Presser Music Award.

Gaining recognition for his performances of contemporary music he played with the New Fromm Players at Tanglewood by invitation in 2002. He has also performed and recorded the premiere of the Cello Concerto by Menachem Weisenberg with the Israel Defence Force Orchestra During the time he was carrying out his Israeli military service he worked in the “Distinguished Musician Program” and performed with the Israel Defence Force String Quartet in concerts given for the soldiers in outreach areas.

He has also premiered works by Elliott Carter in Boston and the composer Lior Novak wrote his “Fantasy for Solo Cello” for him, which he premiered in 2001. Other contemporary composers he has worked with include John Corigliano, John Harbison, Gyorgy Kurtag and Leon Kirchner.

Throughout his career he has performed internationally at many major venues as an acclaimed chamber musician, orchestra member and soloist. Some of the ensembles he has performed with include the Ariel String Quartet, Civic Symphony of Boston, Classical Tangent, the Hudson Valley Philharmonic and Symphony Pro Musica. In 2004 he became a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

He has also performed at the Marlboro Festival and worked with other acclaimed string musicians such as Kim Kashkashian, Gil Shaham and Pinkhas Zukerman.

Some of his recordings include America and Chris Botti: Live in Boston with the Boston Pops Orchestra.

In the field of musical education he has worked as a faculty member at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute and Tanglewood Music Center. He also gives private tuition.

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