Weiner

Weiner, Amit

Statement

Music is everywhere. People will always need music, and I have always thought that being a musician is the biggest gift given to me, which I am bound to give back to society with my musical activities, compositions, concerts, and teaching.

Credo

My name is Dr. Amit Weiner and I am a composer and a pianist based in Israel.

I am living in a country which is permanently in a state of war, and my biggest dream has always been to make the world a better place through the power of music. This is not a cliché; this is truly my life's quest - to make the world more musically sensitive, and to help people understand the positive power music can have on our lives.

I always knew I am going to be a musician. I started playing the piano when I was six, and in the 30 years since, the piano has always been my biggest inspiration and devotion. During the past 30 years I also played guitar and drums for a few years, but the most profound change in my life came at the age of 17, when I started to seriously learn how to compose music.

Since then, I have finished my PhD in composition from the Bar Ilan University in Israel, and M.Mus and B.Mus degrees in composition from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, where I currently teach as a senior staff lecturer, and where I am honored to be the head of the Cross-Disciplinary-Composition Division since 2016.

All my life I knew that music can truly change the world we live in. As a composer, a pianist, and a lecturer, I have been traveling around the world to spread this message – I have participated in festivals and academic conferences in the USA, Europe and Asia.

I have never stopped believing that music can truly change the world we live in. Especially in our times, where the spread of the Corona virus disease stops the entire world to think it all over again, we as musicians can provide some answers and remedies to a heart broken society.

CV - Dr. Amit Weiner

Composer for media and concert music

Website:  www.aweinermusic.com
 

Academic Education

2012 PhD in Composition, Bar-Ilan University, Israel. Supervisors: Prof. Betty Olivero, Prof. Gideon Levinson
2006 Master's degree (M.Mus) in composition, The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance & The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel. Supervisor: Prof. Vladimir Scolnik
2004 Bachelor's degree (B.Mus) in composition and piano studies, The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, Israel. Supervisors: Prof. Tzvi Avni, Prof. Haim Permont, Prof. Ari Ben- Shabtai

 

Work Experience

2002 – Present Composer, Pianist, Conductor
  • Works as an active composer and pianist in the fields of contemporary music, music for films and TV, and popular music
  • Has an oeuvre includes over 40 chamber and orchestral works, soundtracks for three full-length silent films, and credits for music libraries for TV and films
  • Played and performs regularly in Israel and around the world in music festivals and by well-known orchestras, ensembles and independent musicians
  • Works as an arranger and conductor of different ensembles and orchestras of Israeli songs. Has arranged more than 80 songs.
    Additional elaboration in section "Artistic Activity"
10/2016 – Present

Head of the Cross-Disciplinary Composition Division at The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance.

Nature of work:

  • Responsibility of student's recruitment and admission process
  • Establishing cross-faculty and cross-institutional collaborations
  • Supervision of undergraduate and postgraduates Honours projects
  • Jury member and head of election committees in students' competitions
  • Advising students on academic matters, and grading Final Composition Portfolios
10/2014 – 09/2016

Senior Lecturer (equivalent to assistant professor level) at The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance.

Nature of work:

  • Teaching core and elective courses
  • Teaching individual composition lessons in the B.A. and M.A. program
  • Developing teaching aids and materials for the faculty's staff at core courses
  • Active involvement in students' recruitment
10/2009 – 09/2014

Adjunct Lecturer at The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance.

Nature of work:

  • Teaching core courses in the performing arts faculty, in the B.A. program
  • Instructing student's ensembles in the cross-disciplinary-music faculty
10/2006 – 09/2014

Lecturer at the External Studies Institute of The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance.

Nature of work:

  • Teaching a variety of courses designated to the general public and music lovers in an accessible and enjoyable way.
    Amongst the common topics are: contemporary music; classical music versus popular music; forms in classical music; Israeli music and Israeli Jazz

 

Scholarships and Awards of the past five years

2019 Winner of the Call for scores by Österreichische Gesellschaft für zeitgenössische Musik – Austrian Society for New Music with the composition "Rage Against the Piano". The composition was performed in Vienna on November 2019 (Vienna, Austria)
2018 Winner of the Call for Piano Recordings by RMN MUSIC label (London, UK)
2018 Finalist of the Banaue International Music Composition Competition 2018 (competition will be held on July 2018)
2017

Winner of the Society of Composers Region VII Conference 2017 call for scores

The composition "Suite for horn, tuba and piano" (Tempe, Arizona, USA) was performed on October 2017 at the Society of Composers Region VII Conference 2017

2017

Winner of the RMN International Call for Piano Solo Works

The composition "Anagram no. 2 - for solo piano" was performed by pianist Jelena Makarova, at the Contemporary Workshop Events on November 2017 (London, UK)

2016

2nd prize winner of the Alfred Schnittke composition competition

The composition "Rage Against the Piano" was performed by: piano - Nataliya Martynova, with soloists of Lemberg Sinfonietta, at the Lviv Philharmonic Hall (Lviv, Ukraine)

2016

Winner of the VDG Call for Viola da Gamba (Bass Viol) and Piano works
The composition "Passacaglia Funebre" was recorded and featured in a CD devoted to new music, performed by violist: Andrew Arceci (Boston, USA)

2016

Winner of the International Trumpet Guild 2016 Conference Call for Scores
The composition "At the Gates of Jerusalem" was performed with trumpet player Fred Sienkiewitz (USA) the composer at the piano, at the ITG Conference 2016 (California, USA)

2015

Winner of the "15 Minutes of Fame" competition by Asian Composers League in Malaysia
The composition "Pulsating Waves" was premiered at a special concert held on May 31st, 2015 (Kyoto, Japan)

2014 Winner of the International Society for Contemporary Music Irish branch broadcasting competition
The composition "If This is a Man?" was broadcasted on both Israeli and Irish radio during 2014
2013

Winner of ACUM (Society of Authors, Composers and Music Publishers in Israel) grant
An advancement scholarship for the encouragement and support of Israeli composer's original work

 

A selection of concerts and selection of compositions

Academic Activity: Conferences and Master Classes

November 2019 A week of masterclasses in composition for media and film scoring, at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music (Chengdu, China)
May 2019 Master class in composition, with live performances of Weiner's music for piano, at the University of Oldenburg (Germany)
March 2018 Master class with live performances of Weiner's music, at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing (China)
2012-2017 Master Classes on composition, improvisation and chamber music instructor at the program for exceptional instrumentalists and singers in northern Israel. (Mizra, Israel)
October 2017 Master class and profile concert at Southern University and A&M College (Louisiana, USA)
October 2017 Presentation about "Arvo Pärt - The 'Holy Minimalism' and 'New Simplicity' as 'Total Serialism' in disguise". University of Tennessee Contemporary Music Festival 2017 (Tennessee, USA)
October 2017 Master class and profile concert at the University of Montevallo (Alabama, USA)
October 2017 Performance of the composition "Suite for horn, tuba and piano" at the Society of Composers Region VII Conference 2017, with the composer at the piano (Tempe, Arizona, USA)
October 2017 Master class and profile concert of 60 minutes of Amit Weiner's music, as a composer and a pianist at Washington State University (Washington, USA)
June 2017 Presentation and concert about "Musical Characteristics of Jerusalem Songs" at the "What is an Israeli Song" conference by Bar-Ilan Univesity (Israel)
May 2017 Presentation about "Music and Geography: The Local Flavor of Israeli Jazz" at the New Music on the Bayou Festival (Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA)
January 2017 Performance of the composition "Floating Fifths" at the 2017 Florida International Toy Piano Festival (Miami, Florida, USA)
January 2017 Master class at the Yangon Arts and Sciences University (Myanmar)
June 2016 Performance of the composition "At the Gates of Jerusalem" at the International Trumpet Guild 2016 Conference (Anaheim, California, USA)
June 2015 Presentation and concert about "Jerusalem of Gold – Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow" at the "What is an Israeli Song?" conference by Bar-Ilan Univesity (Israel)

 

List of Works
The links are for YouTube recordings of the compositions

2018

Ifugao- The People of the Hill, 15:00 minutes

Large Orchestra, written for the Banaue Music Competition 2018 at Manila, Philippines

2018

As Time passes By…, 10:00 minutes

A piece in two movements for Tuba and Piano

2018

Ancient Echoes of Psalms, 12:00 minutes

A piece in three movements for Saxophone and Harp

2017

Alternating Echoes, 10:00 minutes

Concertino for solo percussion and a symphony orchestra

2017

Memories of Jerusalem of Gold, 7:30 minutes [Link to video]

A composed interpretation for the Hebrew song "Jerusalem of Gold".
For voice, piano, clarinet, violin, and guitar

2016

Rage Against the Piano, 6:30 minutes [Link to video]

Concerto for piano and a chamber ensemble – Picc, Ob, Cl, Bsn, Trp, Hn, Perc (2 players), Pno, Strings.

2016

In the Land of Oz, 8:00 minutes [Link to video]

A suite for two orchestras and a narrator. For a Children Orchestra, ages 5-14 years old, and a professional symphony orchestra

2016

Fleurs du mal – Flowers of Evil, 4:30 minutes

Piano Trio – Vln, Pno, Vcl.

2016

Anagrams [Link to Anagram no.1 & Anagram no.2]

A cycle of 12 pieces for solo piano, written between 2008-2016

2015 Suite For Viola and Piano - Songs of Hope, Sorrow and Frenzy, 13:00 minutes [Link to video]
Viola and piano
2015

The Story of The Pied Piper of Hamelin, 10:00 minutes [Link to video]

Flute (Muta in Alto Flute and Piccolo) and Piano

2014

At the Gates of Jerusalem, 11:00 minutes [Link to video]

Oboe (Muta in English Horn) and Piano

2011

Scenes from a Life of an Anti-Hero, 40:00 minutes

Concerto for Piano and a large orchestra

2011

Folk Songs, 8:00 minutes

Viola and Piano

2010

To Be a Note, 9:00 minutes [Link to video]

Two songs For Children Choir and Ensemble (text by Miron Izakson)

2010

…Und After Babylon, 12:00 minutes

Chamber Orchestra and Live Electronics

2008

3 Piano Miniatures for four Hands, 5:00 minutes

Piano – four hands

2008

What Does a Bird Care for Hanoch Levin, 15:00 minutes [Link to video]

Mezzo Soprano, Piano, and 2 Percussion Players (text by Hanoch Levin, collecting words by Amit Weiner)

2007

Follow the Sea, 7:00 minutes [Link to video]

Children Choir, Piano, and Percussion

2006

Jerusalem Lights, 13:00 minutes [Link to video]

Concerto for Clarinet, Piano, and Chamber Orchestra

2006

The Storyteller – 100 Years of Solitude, 8:00 minutes

Orchestra and a Narrator

2004

Ready - Made Concert, 5:30 minutes

Electronic Piece

2002

The Very Last Thing, 11:00 minutes

Speaker and Violin solo (text by Hanoch Levin)

2001

The Rain, 16:00 minutes

Mezzo Soprano and Piano (text by Israel Pinkas)

2000

If This Is a Man?, 11:30 minutes [Link to video]

Alto and a String Quartet (text by Primo Levi)

1999 Fantasia, 10:00 minutes
Violin and piano
1999

Prelude, Fugue and Ostinato, 12:00 minutes
Solo Piano

 

Artistic Activity - Highlights

May 2019 Four performances of a new composition: "Walk with Bach" a concerto for Mandolin and a baroque orchestra. Commissioned and performed by Concerto Foscari with soloist and conductor Alon Sariel, at Oldenburg, Goslar, and Osnabruck, Germany.
November 2019 Commission of music for a theater play: "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", by Ken Kesey, for several performances on November 2019 (Tel Aviv, Israel)
February 2019 Concerts in Chengdu and Chongqing, China. Concerts held at the White Elephant Hall (Chongqing) and improvised concert at Nu Space (Chengdu) (China)
January 2019 Concert in Singapore. Concerts held at the Esplanade Recital Hall, organized by the Israeli Embassy in Singapore, with musicians from the YST Conservatory of Music. (Singapore)
January 2019 Concerts in Manila, The Philippines. Concerts organized by the Israeli Embassy in The Philippines.
2018 Commission of music for a theater play: "A Chorus of Disapproval", by Alan Ayckbourn, for several performances with live music, on November 2018 (Tel Aviv, Israel)
2018 Commission of composition for Tuba and Piano, for the participation of tuba player Deanna Swoboda at the Tuba and Euphonium Festival (Madrid, Spain)
2017-2018

Musical producer, arranger and conductor of the two-years-project "Notes of Hope" – a concert commemorating music written by composers murdered in the holocaust, including both professional symphony orchestra and a children orchestra.
The project was initiated by the Jewish National Fund (JNF UK) with the Italian musicologist Francesco Lotoro.
The gala concert took place on April 15th 2018 in Jerusalem (Israel), in the presence of ambassadors and diplomats, ministers of the Israeli government, donors and special guests.

2017-2018

Musical instructor and producer of the project "Voices of the Heart" – M.A. composition students at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance composed new original compositions especially for children choirs from all over Israel.
The project's final gala concert took place on April 16th in Jerusalem, with 200 choir children at YMCA Hall Jerusalem (Israel).

2012-

Founder and producer of the project "Music in Times of Tragedy" – a series of concerts dedicated to music written and performed during the Holocaust. Live music interwoven with personal stories of Jewish musicians who perished during the Holocaust.
The concerts are held regularly as part of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day events at embassies around the world, especially in Asia: China, Nepal, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Taiwan, and more.
Dr. Weiner is the producer, pianist, arranger and lecturer at the event, which also includes local musicians.

2015-2018

Creator of the show "When Jazz meets Classical Music" in collaboration with Known Israeli Jazz saxophone player Shlomi Goldenberg. A unique cross-disciplinary performance/ dialogue about the interaction between these two different genres.
The show ran over 15 times all over Israel, and still running.

October 2017 Performance of the composition "At the Gates of Jerusalem" at University of Tennessee Contemporary Music Festival 2017 (Tennessee, USA)
May 2017 Performance of the composition "The Story of The Pied Piper of Hamelin" at the New Music on the Bayou Festival (Louisiana, USA)
February 2017 Performance of the composition "Anagrams" at the concert series Emergents I=I (Toronto, Canada)
2017 Commission of Music for the Theater Play "Suitcase Packers", presented with live music with the composer at the piano and melodica, at the Nissan Nativ Acting Studio
2017

Commission of Concertino for solo percussion and a symphony orchestra by the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra and percussion master Chen Zimbalista.
World premiere was held on November 1st, 2017, by Chen Zimbalista and the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, at the Jerusalem Theatre concert hall (Israel).

October 2016 Performance as composer and pianist at the Israeli Music Holiday Festival with the Israeli ensemble Ma-Trio, at Elma Hall, Israel.
March 2016 Performance as pianist at the Jewish Music Days Festival with the Israeli ensemble Ma-Trio, at Ono College Hall, Israel.
2016

Commission of sound track to the Italian documentary film "Alla Ricerca delle Origini del Male" produced by Rai TV Italy.
The film was broadcasted on Italian TV and on special screening at Rome and Milano (Italy) during 2017, and participated on film festivals around Europe.

June 2015

Participating as a pianist in the Italian documentary film "Souna Ancora" produced by Rai TV Italy.
The film was broadcasted on Italian TV during 2015-2016.

2015

Commission of composition for two orchestras – professional orchestra and children orchestra, by the famous conductor Chen Zimbalista.
World premiere was held on June 1st, 2016, by the Beer-Sheva Symphony Orchestra, at the hall of performing arts at Beer-Sheva (Israel).

2015 Arranger for the concert series "Singing & Song" produced by Israeli pianist Ido Ariel.
2013-2014

Musical instructor at the project "Voices of the Heart" – B.A. composition students at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance are writing new original compositions especially for children choirs from all over Israel.
The project's final gala concerts took place every year in Jerusalem, with 7 children choirs.

2013

Commission of live soundtrack to the Israeli silent film "Jewish Life in Palestine" (1913) produced by Jacob Gross.
The film was screened at the 2013 International Festival of Jewish Cinema (Jerusalem), accompanied by live performance of the commissioned sound track.

2011

Commission of live sound track to the German silent film "Breaking Home Ties" (1922) by the National Center for Jewish Film (NCJF).
The film was screened accompanied by live performance of the commissioned sound track on several festival and Cinematheque theaters, amongst are: 2011 International Festival of Jewish Cinema (Jerusalem), the Hong Kong Jewish Film Festival (2012).

 

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