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Naama Tamir Kaplan

Photo: Mushon Tamir

Born in Israel in 1984. Na'ama began her piano studies at the age of 8, alongside saxophone and cembalo studies. Completed her B. Mus degree in composition with Prof. Vladimir Scolnic and Prof. Menachem Wiesenberg, and her M. Mus degree with Prof. Menachem Wiesenberg and Prof. Yinam Leef, in The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. After studying at the Academy, she studied composition with Prof. Oded Zehavi. Na’ama is a recipient of the AICF scholarships for 2007-2008. In her student years at The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, she part took master classes with Richard Wernick and with Prof. Walter Zimermmann. In 2011, Na’ama participated in The London-Jerusalem Music Project, where she collaborated with the London's Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. On May 2013, her piece ODE LA’EL (“Ode to the Lord”) for oboe quintet awarded with the 1st Prize at the composing competition Klang der Welt, and was performed at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. In June 2014, The Limoncello Quartet had played her piece Spirangle in The Ein Kerem Music Center in Jerusalem, during Israel Festival. In November 2014, The Israel Camerata Jerusaelm orchestra performed her piece Spring Illusions, which was commissioned specially by the orchestra. In March 2015 her piece From the Bottom of My Hurt was performed by the pianist Irena Friedland, in the International Women's Day Festival in Riga, Latvia. Friedland performed the piece again in July 2018, during The Voice of Music in the Upper Galilee Chamber Music Festival, and in in September 2018, during the Israeli Music Festival in Tel Aviv.

In July 2015 Na'ama won the Grand Prize for the 2015 American Harp Society in Dallas Composer Competition for her piece Sketches for Harp Solo. In October 2016, her piece Spring Illusions was performed in Japan by the YAMAGATA Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Radek Baborák. In April 2017, during the Opus Festival in Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Radek Baborák, a renowned horn player in his own right, has performed an encore, written specially for this occasion by Na'ama. In November 2018, Baborák has performed the piece during the Hamburger Kammermusikfest International.

In August 2018, Na'ama participated in Synthetis summer course in Radziejowice, Poland, where she took classes under the instruction of Marta Ptaszyńska, Mauricio Sotelo, Ondřej Adámek, and Johannes Kreidler.

In September 2018, as part of the Israeli Music Festival in Haifa, her piece Elegy for viola and chamber orchestra was premiered by the violist Rivka Golani and the Israel Chamber Orchestra conducted by Yaniv Dinur.

In January 2019, her piece Passage for viola and piano was premiered by violist Pamela Ryan and pianist Galen Dean Peiskee in Florida State University in Tallahasse, and had a repeat performance in University of Colorado, Boulder during "An Evening of Music by Jewish Composers".

 

In April 2019 her piece Children March was commissioned and performed as part of collaboration between the Israel Composers League and Tel Aviv Yafo Municipality.

In May 2019 her arrangement for Sasha Argov's Lullaby (SHIR ERES) was played in a special chamber concert at the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, with Lahav Shani at the piano and seven IPO musicians.

The same month, her piece The Feast (HAMISHTE) to lyrics by Zelda, was performed by the Cecilia Ensemble with music director Guy Peltz at the Israel Composers League Spring Festival. The piece was performed again during the Israel Festival 2019 In Ein Kerem Music Center in Jerusalem. In June 2019 the Israel Contemporary String Quartet played her piece Movies. The following month, during the Voice of Music in the Upper Galilee Chamber Music Festival, Na'ama featured her project "Songs for Anna" for voice and ensemble of original music and arrangements for Hebrew poems. In October 2019 Na'ama was selected for residency at the Avaloch Farm Music Institute in New Hampshire, USA.

In February 2020 her piece Black Viola for two solo violas and violas orchestra was played in a Gala Concert with guests from the Blackfoot First Nation People of Alberta, Canada, in Greenwich, London. The piece was commissioned by violist Rivka Golani, who was the soloist in the piece, alongside Peter Barsony.

In May 2020, Na'ama was awarded the Rosenblum Prize for the Performing Arts.

In July 2021, her piece Jesters, for text by A. Shlonsky was performed by Tenor/Actor Ziv Shalit and Raanana Symphonette, conducted by Keren Kagarlitsky at the Music&Arts center in Ra'anana. The piece was commissioned specially by the orchestra.

In September 2021, her piece Two Birds (lyrics by Dana Leshem-Ezra) was performed by Shulamit Trio during the Silesia Sonans Festival in Poland. The piece was commissioned specially for the trio.

In December 2021, three arrangements by Na'ama were performed during the Upper Galilee Voice of Music Winter Festival. The arrangements were commissioned specially for this occasion. 

At the end of December 2021, her piece Encore To Radek was published by the International Horn Society.

On August 11th, 2022 her piece Trisim (Blinds) to lyrics by Cylia Kestin, commissioned specially by The Hebrew Writers Association in Israel was performed at Beit Hasofer, Tel Aviv by soprano Keren Hadar, violist Eliana Lovenberg and pianist Tal Haim Samnon.

 

In July 2022 Na'ama released a digital album – Songs for Anna, featuring singer Anna Spitz, clarinetist Danny Erdman and cellist Adiel Shmit and Na'ama herself on the piano. The project, that also included a launch concert on December 21st at Acum Beit Hyotzer, Tel Aviv, was supported by ACUM'S Foundation for the Advancement of Israeli Art, The Yehoshua Rabinovich Foundation for the Arts and the Mifal HaPais Council for the Culture and Arts.

                                                                                                                                      

Since 2018 Na'ama is participating in The Same Word project, an international, intercultural and interreligious project. On February 11th, 2023 the project's collaborative piece was premiered in Hamburg at the Elbphilharmonie and on the following day at St. Georg church.

 

On March 9th her piece Women Gifts to lyrics by Tal Schachar was performed by soprano Tali Ketzef, clarinetist Danny Erdman and pianist Hagai Yodan at Beit Hasofer in Tel Aviv. The piece was commissioned specially by The Hebrew Writers Association in Israel for the International Women Day.

 

On March 26th and on May 26th her work Letter to Heaven, commissioned by the Radial trio and inspired by letters composed during the COVID-19 pandemic, was performed in Studio der Südwestdeutschen Philharmonie Konstanz and in KunstKulturKirche, Frankfurt.

 

On May 20th, 2023 Na'ama's piece Aires for Ari, dedicated to her son, was premiered in a special family concert – Invitation au voyage, where she played the piano together with soprano Reut Ventorero and Bassoon player Nadav Cohen at  Annette Studio in Tel Aviv.

Na'ama's works are published through the Israeli Institute of Music.

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