Conductor Itay Talgam is one of the leading figures in the Israeli music scene. Talgam is a champion of contemporary music, and in particular music of contemporary Israeli composers. His outstanding achievements were acknowledged by audiences, critics, as well as by Israel’s composers Association, which in 1994 awarded him an honorary prize for his personal contribution in performing and promoting Israeli music.

As Music Director of the Tel-Aviv Symphony Orchestra and of Musica Nova Consort Talgam won the prestigious prize for “Best performance of the year” for Israeli orchestral music, awarded by the National Council for the Arts.

Talgam’s International Debut took place in 1987, when he was chosen by Leonard Bernstein to perform in a special concert with the Orchestre de Paris, the great Maestro himself conducting the second half of the same concert. Since that highly successful performance, Talgam conducted many orchestras in Europe - being the first Israeli conductor to perform with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra and with the Leipzig Opera house. He also performed in the United States, and, naturally, conducted and recorded many times with all of Israel’s major orchestras, including the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the New Israeli Opera, Jerusalem Symphony, Israel Chamber Orchestra, etc.

A native of Tel-Aviv, Itay Talgam received his Artist Diploma in conducting from the Jerusalem Rubin Academy (under Prof. Mendy Rodan) in 1987, Winning scholarships from the America-Israel cultural foundation. He than studied in the Accademia Chigiana, Siena, with Maestri Franco Ferrara and Guenady Rozhdestvensky and in Tanglewood, USA, under Maestri Seiji Osawa, Leon Fleisher and Lenny Bernstein. He also studied General Philosophy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, winning his degree “Cum Laude”.

Itay Talgam has taught orchestral conducting at the Rubin Academy for music, Tel-Aviv University, and the Academy for Music and Dance in Jerusalem.In addition to his current conducting activities, he is intensely involved in many educational projects, both as a fellow of the Mandel School for Educational Leadership in Jerusalem, and as the creator of the unique ‘Maestro’ leadership programs. He is also a member of the Israeli National Council for the Arts music section.

Itay Talgam is permanent guest conductor of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Transilvania, Cluj (Klausenburg).

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