Noam Sheriff facts for kids
Noam Sheriff (born January 7, 1935 – died August 25, 2018) was a famous Israeli composer, conductor, teacher, and arranger. He was known around the world for his amazing musical talents. Noam Sheriff was a very important person in the music world. He led many orchestras and taught music for a long time.
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Early Life and Learning
Noam Sheriff loved music and learning from a young age. He studied how to create music, which is called composition, in Tel Aviv with a teacher named Paul Ben-Haim. He also learned in Berlin with Boris Blacher.
He learned how to be a conductor in Salzburg from Igor Markevitch. Conductors are the people who lead orchestras. Besides music, Noam Sheriff also studied philosophy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Jerusalem.
Music He Created
Noam Sheriff's music is special because it mixes sounds from different parts of the world. He blended old music styles from the Middle East and the Mediterranean with Western music. His first big work, Festival Prelude, was played in 1957 by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. A famous conductor named Leonard Bernstein led the orchestra.
One of his most important groups of works is a set of three vocal pieces. They are called a trilogy.
- Mechaye Hamethim (meaning Revival of the Dead) was first played in 1987. It uses old Jewish music from Eastern Europe and ancient sounds from the Samaritans.
- Sephardic Passion was first played in Spain in 1992. This piece uses music from Sephardic Jews.
- Psalms of Jerusalem was played in 1995 to celebrate Jerusalem's 3000th birthday. It had four choirs singing in both Hebrew and Latin.
Another important work by Sheriff is Genesis. It was played by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra to celebrate Israel's 50th Independence Day. He also wrote an opera called Hagolem (The Clay Automaton).
Leading Orchestras
Noam Sheriff was also a talented conductor. He traveled all over the world, leading orchestras. He conducted his own music and many other famous pieces.
From 1989 to 1995, he was the Music Director of the Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon LeZion. Under his leadership, this orchestra became very successful. Later, from 2002 to 2005, he was the Music Director of the Israel Chamber Orchestra. In 2004, he also became the Music Director of the New Haifa Symphony Orchestra.
Teaching Music
Noam Sheriff loved to share his knowledge. He started teaching composition and conducting in 1963. He taught at important places like the Hebrew University and Tel Aviv University. He also taught in Germany and Austria.
He helped organize many music festivals in Israel. He also worked on music programs for television and radio. From 1990, he was a professor at Tel Aviv University's Rubin Academy of Music. He even served as the director of the academy from 1998 to 2000.
Awards and Recognition
Noam Sheriff received many important awards for his contributions to music:
- In 1991, he won the ACUM Prize for his lifetime of work.
- In 2003, he was given the EMET Prize for music.
- In 2011, he received the highest honor in Israel, the Israel Prize, for music.
He was also named one of the 50 most influential people in Israeli music.
Selected Works
Here are some of the musical pieces Noam Sheriff created:
- Festival Prelude, 1957
- Heptaprism, Ballet, 1965
- Israel-Suite, 1967
- May Ko Mashma Lan..., Essay for harp and string quartet, 1976
- Essay for string orchestra, 1977
- Prayer for strings, 1983
- La Follia Variations, 1984
- Partita for viola and cello, "LI-GUR" 1984
- Mechaye Hamethim (Revival of the Dead), 1985
- Sephardic Passion, 1992
- Scarlattiana, piano concerto, 1994
- Psalms of Jerusalem, 1995
- Wenn das Pendel der Liebe schwingt..., Six Songs after Paul Celan, 1996
- Akeda, 1997
- Bereshit, 1998
- Golem 13, Opera, 2008
See also
- List of Israel Prize recipients
