Tel Aviv Wind Quintet
Founded in 2009, the Tel Aviv Wind Quintet has quickly become one of Israel’s leading chamber ensembles. The group performs regularly at major venues across the country and is deeply engaged in cultural and educational projects. Internationally, the Quintet has toured throughout the USA, Europe and China.
A central part of the ensemble’s artistic vision is the promotion of Israeli music. Many of Israel’s foremost composers have written works especially for the Quintet, several of which have been premiered and recorded by the ensemble. In 2016, the group released its debut album, featuring the world premiere of a commissioned work by Ari Ben-Shabtai. Its second release, LIVE (2018), consists of concert performances with pianist Yaron Kohlberg.
The Quintet is supported by the Ministry of Culture and Sports and is a member of the Independent Musicians Organisation of the Felicja Blumental Association. Its activities are made possible thanks to the generous support of the Patrick and Lina Drahi Foundation, the Ronen Foundation, the Haifa Arts Foundation, the Rabinovich Foundation and the Israel Lottery Council for Culture and Arts.
In 2024, the Tel Aviv Wind Quintet was honored with the Daniel Binyamini Award for chamber ensemble by the Ministry of Culture.
The musicians
The quintet is a member of the Independent Musicians Organization of the Felicja Blumental association
Musicians
Roy Amotz - Flute
Born in Jerusalem in 1982, Roy resides in Berlin nowadays, performing as a soloist and in various chamber music formations around the world. His teachers in Israel include Vladimir Silva, Moshe Epstein, Yossi Arnheim and Avner Biron. He graduated degrees in musical performance and early music practice from the Berlin University of Arts (with Prof Staege and Prof. Hungeburth, both with honors). Engagements in the early music field include working with the Akademie für alte Musik Berlin, as well as concerts with "Zoom Quartet", with which he won the Biagio-Marini international early music Competition. Other prizes Roy received include the first prize in the International Flute Competition in Greece and the Pergamenchikow Prize in Berlin with "Trio Vis", with whom he created the crossover "64 Things Show” inspired by John Cage.
Roy was a member of the acclaimed Meitar Ensemble for Contemporary Music for more than a decade. The Ensemble has performed in Israel and abroad in numerous festivals including the Venice Biennale and the Manifeste Festival in Paris. Personal collaborations with composers lead to the creation of three new flute concerti.
Since 2013 Roy is the principal flutist of the Geneva Camerata - an innovative ensemble performing music all the way from early music to contemporary music. His performances as a soloist include the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra and the Scotland BBC Symphony Orchestra. In 2017 Roy founded a new platform called "Music and Beyond", aiming to present classical music in new contexts, and to create a transformative experience for audience and performers. The first project of this platform is called “Fantasies”, and is a sensory journey exploring the relationship of our senses to each other from a new perspective.
Hagar Shahal - Flute
Known for her versatility and expressive playing, Israeli flutist Hagar Shahal brings to the Tel Aviv Wind Quintet a broad musical range, from Baroque to contemporary repertoire. In addition to her work with the Quintet, Shahal serves as the Assistant Principal Flutist of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra and is a member of the Meitar Ensemble. She teaches at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance and at the Israel Conservatory of Music in Tel Aviv. Shahal studied with Prof. Eyal Ein-Habar at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music, and later with Prof. Renate Greiss-Armin and Mr. Mathias Allin in Karlsruhe. Her career reflects a deep commitment to chamber music, performance, education, and contemporary creation.
Dmitry Malkin - Oboe
Born in 1976 in the Ukraine, Dmitry Malkin immigrated to Israel with his family the age of 13. A graduate of the Jerusalem Rubin Academy of Music and Dance, in 2005 he completed his Master’s degree in Orchestral Performance at the Manhattan School of Music in the class of Mr. Joseph Robinson. Since 1993, he has won several American-Israel Cultural Foundation scholarships. Performance credits include the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, the American Symphony Orchestra, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra and the Australian Chamber Orchestra. Dmitry Malkin has been a member of the UBS Verbier Festival Orchestra since 2004 and a member of the UBS Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra since 2006. In 2006-09 he played with the Hyogo Performing Arts Center Orchestra in Japan under Yutaka Sado’s baton. In 2012 he joined the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra as an English horn player, serving as the orchestra’s Principal Oboist between 2014-17. In 2017 he joined the Israel Philharmonic.
Danny Erdman - Clarinet
Danny Erdman has performed across Israel, Europe, and United States both as a soloist and a chamber musician. The youngest artist to perform at the first EuroCass convention in 1997, Danny has also participated in festivals such as Ostend, Paris, Norfolk, Sarasota and Aspen. He holds music performance degrees from Tel Aviv University, Yale University and the Zurich School of Arts. An Avid Chamber and new music performer, Danny is a member of the Israel contemporary players and a founding member of the Tel Aviv wind quintet. Between 2007 – 2015 he was the principle clarinetist of the Israel Chamber Orchestra. Now he is the principle clarinetist of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra.
Danny served in the Israeli army for three years as an "Outstanding Musician". Since 1996 he had been a recipient of the America-Israel Cultural Foundation Scholarship. Among his mentors are Eva Wasserman, Ron Selka, David Shifrin and Matthias Müller.
Itamar Leshem - Horn
Itamar started playing the horn at the age of 12. Today he is performing regularly with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in Israel, the U.S.A, Asia, and Europe and recently performed with them as a soloist under the baton of Maestro Zubin Mehta in Israel and on tours in South America and Europe. He also performed as a soloist with orchestras in China. In concert season 2019 - 2020 Itamar was playing with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra as well as with the BBC Philharmonic as guest principal horn.
Itamar has graduated from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Roosevelt University, studying with Mr. Dale Clevenger in Chicago. His studies were supported by the America-Israel Cultural Foundation.
Itamar has performed in some of the most distinguished festivals such as the Salzburg Festival, Lucerne Festival, the Proms, Jerusalem Chamber music Festival, Landsberg Chamber music Festival and in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Teatro Colon and La Scala.
He is a member of the West-Eastern Divan orchestra under Maestro Daniel Barenboim and former member of the Israel Symphony Orchestra, Rishon Le'Zion.
In recent years he has guided the horn section of the Young Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and teaches at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music in the Tel Aviv University.
Nadav Cohen - Bassoon
Nadav Cohen is a member of the Tel Aviv Wind Quintet and the Meitar Ensemble, alongside teaching in "Tedarim", a unique contemporary music track at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. "Animate”, his 2018 debut solo album is dedicated to new bassoon music. He has also served as Principal Bassoon with the Israel Camerata Orchestra and Le Concert Impromptu in Paris.
Nadav studied bassoon with Uzi Shalev and Maurizio Paez and composition with Yinam Leef. He served in the IDF as an outstanding musician and graduated from the JAMD. Nadav continued his studies in Cologne with Ole Kristian Dahl and in The Hague with baroque bassoonist Donna Agrell. He has received scholarships from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation and the Ronen Foundation.
Nadav completed his Master degree at the International Ensemble Modern Academy in Frankfurt. Since then he has collaborated regularly with Ensemble Modern in prestigious venues across Europe, such as the Berlin Philharmonie, Oper Frankfurt and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.