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About the Orchestra · Approaching 90 Years
Founded initially as part of the Palestine Broadcasting Service, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra (JSO) has played a crucial role in developing the cultural sphere of the State of Israel, launching the careers of the world's best musicians, and promoting Israeli composers.
Outstanding conductors, composers, and soloists have worked with the JSO — among them Igor Stravinsky, Leonard Bernstein, Otto Klemperer, Arthur Rubinstein, Yehudi Menuhin, Mstislav Rostropovich, Pablo Casals, Isaac Stern, Krzysztof Penderecki, Mischa Maisky, and Yefim Bronfman.
Millions of Israelis grew up listening to the orchestra's weekly radio broadcasts, and its performances on the world's most prestigious stages have been praised by critics and audiences alike.
The JSO has toured extensively, playing at some of the most prestigious venues — including the Musikverein in Vienna, the Philharmonie in Cologne, and Carnegie Hall in New York. In June 2009, the orchestra performed the “Elijah” oratorio at the closing event of the Bachfest in Leipzig. In February 2015, the JSO was invited by UNESCO to Paris to perform Shostakovich's Symphony No. 13 (‘Babi Yar’) in a special concert commemorating the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. For over a decade, the JSO has been touring Argentina, Brazil, and Japan. In 2018, the JSO became the first Israeli orchestra to perform in the United Arab Emirates.
Presently, in addition to traditional classical orchestral concerts, the JSO strives to become an all-embracing ‘Sound of Jerusalem’, as well as to serve as the city's cultural ambassador to the world — presenting multi-faith musical festivals; launching educational projects in East and West Jerusalem; performing Jewish, Arabic and Christian music; building cultural bridges with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco; and growing the Jerusalem Music Ambassadors youth network.
The orchestra is supported by the Ministry of Culture and Sport and the Jerusalem City municipality.
Leadership
Spanning nearly four decades, Julian Rachlin's career is a rare story of artistic evolution — from one of the world's most celebrated child prodigies to a multidimensional musician at the summit of his profession. Since debuting at 14 with the Vienna Philharmonic and Riccardo Muti, he has captivated audiences worldwide as a violinist and violist of expressive depth and technical brilliance, whilst also forging a stellar reputation as conductor, artistic director, and creative innovator.
As soloist, Rachlin appears with leading orchestras including the Royal Concertgebouw, Chicago Symphony, Bavarian Radio Symphony, and Hong Kong Philharmonic, collaborating with such renowned conductors as Daniele Gatti, Klaus Mäkelä, Zubin Mehta, and Gianandrea Noseda. Equally compelling on the podium, he conducts many of the world's foremost ensembles — from the BBC Philharmonic and Chicago Symphony to the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and Filarmonica della Scala.
Rachlin currently serves as Music Director of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra (Israel), Chief Conductor of the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra (Norway), Artistic Partner of the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz (Germany), and Artistic Director of Austria's Herbstgold Festival.
Cross-disciplinary collaborators range from classical superstars (Janine Jansen, Evgeny Kissin, and Sir András Schiff) to theatrical icons (John Malkovich, Gérard Depardieu, and Sir Roger Moore), and he has been entrusted with world premieres of works by Auerbach, Penderecki, and Vangelis, amongst others. Rachlin has recorded for Deutsche Grammophon, Sony Classical, and Warner Classics, received numerous awards, and is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Children's Fund.
Born in Lithuania and raised in Vienna, Julian Rachlin studied violin with Boris Kuschnir and Pinchas Zukerman, and conducting with Mariss Jansons, Sophie Rachlin, and Daniele Gatti. He plays on the 1704 “ex-Liebig” Stradivarius violin and a 1785 Lorenzo Storioni viola, on loan from the Dkfm. Angelika Prokopp Privatstiftung, with strings sponsored by Thomastik-Infeld.
Mr. Ofer Amsalem joined the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra in 2020, following 15 years as General Director of several East-West classical orchestras. Ofer began his Hi-Tech career at Eurocom Group Israel, first as a programmer, later as a team leader and then in charge of an entire department. At the age of 26, he was appointed CTO at Internet Zahav (NASDAQ), one of Israel's largest internet providers.
In 2007, he became CEO of the Israeli Andalusian Orchestra, and in 2009, after the orchestra's management had decided to terminate the contracts of the entire staff and musicians, he founded the Jerusalem East-West Orchestra together with a group of musicians and employees, leading the orchestra from a ‘zero budget’ to a budget of 11 million Shekels. He retired from his position as the orchestra's CEO at the end of 2019.
Between technology and culture, he is also a member of the academic staff at the Ashkelon Academic College (in the fields of computer science, statistics and e-trade). He holds a B.A. from the College of Management Academic Studies and an EMBA from Bar-Ilan University.
Director of the “Arts Production Management” company, Michael Gurfinkel was born in 1960 in Russia. He learned to play clarinet from his father, a wonderful musician and teacher. From 1979 to 1984, he studied at the Gnesins Musical Institute in Moscow with Professor Fedotov. In 1983, Mr. Gurfinkel became a laureate of an international competition.
Following the competition, he played with many famous musicians, such as the Borodin Quartet and “The Moscow Virtuosi” under Vladimir Spivakov. From 1986 to 1990 he was Principal clarinet and bass clarinet in the USSR Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Gennady Rozhdestvensky.
In 1990, Mr. Gurfinkel moved to Israel and became Principal clarinetist of the New Israel Opera. Since 1994, he has played in all positions of the clarinet section with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under Maestro Zubin Mehta. In 1995, Maestro Mehta invited him to tour Japan with the Orchestra Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. He has also performed with conductors such as Lorin Maazel, Riccardo Muti, Kurt Masur, Valery Gergiev and Daniel Oren. Since 2016, he has held the position of Musical Assistant Director of the Israel Symphony Orchestra.
Today Mr. Gurfinkel is a popular musician and manager in Israel. He actively performs chamber music and teaches clarinet in Israel and abroad. Under his leadership, “Arts Production Management” offers audiences the most talented soloists, ensembles, orchestras and conductors, and produces music festivals and special events.
Artists who have shared the JSO's stage
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