Hagai Shaham facts for kids

Hagai Shaham (Hebrew: חגי שחם) is a famous Israeli violin player, born on July 8, 1966. He is known for his amazing skill with the violin. Hagai started learning the violin when he was just six years old. He was the last student of a very special teacher named Professor Ilona Feher. Besides playing, he also teaches violin at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music in Tel Aviv University. He is also an artist-in-residence at Stony Brook University.

Playing Music Around the World

Hagai Shaham has played as a soloist with many of the world's biggest orchestras. These include the English Chamber Orchestra and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. He has performed with famous conductors like Zubin Mehta.

In 1985, he was invited to play at a special concert at Carnegie Hall in New York. He performed alongside legendary violinists Isaac Stern and Pinchas Zukerman. After this, Zubin Mehta asked him to play a piece called the Double Concerto by Johannes Brahms at Carnegie Hall. In 2006, he played the same piece again with cellist Mischa Maisky. This was to celebrate the 70th birthday of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.

Hagai Shaham also gives solo concerts and plays chamber music with small groups of musicians. He travels a lot, performing in Europe, North America, and South America. He plays at many international music festivals.

Recording Music

Hagai Shaham has recorded many albums on different music labels. He has recorded music by composers like Achron, Bloch, Brahms, Grieg, and Mozart.

Finding Lost Music

Hagai Shaham made an exciting discovery! He found music by a composer named Joseph Achron (1886–1943) that had never been published. He found these old music papers at the National Library at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Hagai then performed and recorded these pieces. Some of them were heard for the very first time! A CD of these works was released in 1997. Later, in 2012, a bigger collection of Achron's music was released on two CDs. This helped bring Joseph Achron's forgotten music back to life.

Teaching Violin

Along with his performing career, Hagai Shaham is also a dedicated violin teacher. He gives lessons and leads special master classes, mostly in Israel and Europe. He used to teach at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance.

In 2007, he joined the music school at the University of Southern California (USC). This is the same place where the famous violinist Jascha Heifetz once taught. Since 2009, he has been a professor at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music at Tel Aviv University. He also teaches at Stony Brook University in Long Island, NY. In the summer, he teaches at the Heifetz International Music Institute.

Hagai Shaham also teaches online through the iClassical Academy. He has recorded several online masterclasses for students to learn from him.

Awards and Achievements

Hagai Shaham has won many important awards for his musical talent. In September 1990, he and his piano partner, Arnon Erez, won first prize at the ARD International Music Competition in Munich. This was a big deal because no one had won this top prize in their category since 1971!

He has also won other awards, including first prizes at the Ilona Kornhouser competition and the Israeli Broadcasting Authority Young Artist competition. He received four Clairmont Awards and annual scholarships from the American-Israel Cultural Foundation.

Personal Life

Hagai Shaham helped start the Ilona Feher Foundation. This foundation helps young violinists, honoring his former teacher.

He is married and has three children. His sister, Rinat Shaham, is also a talented musician who sings as a mezzo-soprano.