Music Director and Chief Conductor:General Manager: Ofer SelaMusical Director: Dan Ettinger
The Rishon Lezion Israel Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1988 by the Rishon Lezion Municipality. Within a short time, the orchestra positioned itself at the top of the artistic pyramid, as a leading and innovative musical entity in Israel, and since 1989, the orchestra has served with great success as the house orchestra of the Israeli Opera.
The orchestra’s members include the best young musicians in Israel and the best musicians from among the new immigrants. From all the musical cultures brought by its members, the orchestra has formed a personal sound, which is repeatedly appreciated by its listeners and professional critics. The Rishon LeZion Israel Symphony Orchestra offers the audience a wide variety of vocal works, operas and orchestral works from all periods in its programs that include concert series for subscribers, numerous concerts for the whole family, musical performances for young audiences and special concerts for the “golden age”. For its extraordinary work and excellence in the performance, distribution and promotion of original Israeli works, the orchestra won the ACUM Prize for 1991 (5751). Its founder and first musical director was Shimon Cohen, followed by Noam Sharif, Asher Fish, the late Mandy Rodan, and currently Dan Ettinger. The orchestra has toured Europe as an opera orchestra and as a full-fledged symphony orchestra. In the summer of 2008, at the start of its 20th anniversary season, the orchestra embarked on a particularly successful tour of Argentina and Brazil. During the festive season, the orchestra’s listeners were treated to a moving performance of Verdi’s Requiem with the choir of the State Opera House in Tbilisi, Georgia, and listened to “Shira Le’Israel,” a tribute by Chaim Fremont to Israeli poetry written here during the six decades of the state’s existence, as well as a series of masterful performances of classical works. The Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon Lezion is the first orchestra in Israel to perform the works of Richard Strauss and Alexander Zemlinsky in public concerts. The orchestra has participated in prestigious international festivals and has won critical acclaim and audience sympathy. The orchestra frequently records for local radio and television channels and has also released CDs recorded in public concerts: The Rite of Spring by Stravinsky, Thus Spoke Zarathustra , Metamorphoses and Don Juan by Richard Strauss, the Symphony Fantastique by Berlioz L.H.M. Israeli War Requiem by Oded Zehavi and For here is the material in the hands of the creator – Concerto for Cello and Orchestra by Menachem Weisenberg, Violin Concerto by Mendelssohn, Symphony No. 5 by Mahler, Peliaci by Leoncavallo, Leaden Sky by Chaim Fremont and on the same CD also appear Symphony No. 3 and the Egmont Overture by Beethoven.
