Jonathan Keren

Violin, Israeli Chamber Project

Jonathan Keren

Violin
Israeli Chamber Project, Ensemble-in-Residence

Jonathan Keren is an Israeli award-winning composer and versatile performer. Keren is an award-winner from the Koussevitzky Foundation at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC (2007), Prime Minister’s prize in Composition (2012) and AKUM’s “Achievement of The Year in Composition” prize in Israel (2011), a recipient of ASCAP’s Young Composers’ Award prize (2004) and scholarships from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation in violin and composition (1997-2003).

Jonathan is a graduate with a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in composition from The Juilliard School, under the tutelage of Milton Babbit (2004-2006) and Samuel Adler (2000-2004). Mr. Keren’s works have been widely performed in Europe, the US and the Far East; at Carnegie’s Weill Hall; Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Hall and the Rose Theatre at Jazz in Lincoln Center in New York; the Louvre Museum and Mosee D’orsay in Paris; The Berlin Philharmonie Hall; The Juilliard School and New England Conservatory; Contemporary Music Festival at Tanglewood; The Tel-Aviv Museum and Opera House, Jerusalem Music Center and Henry Crown Hall in Israel.

His music has been performed by such artists as cellists Lynn Harrell, Jean-Guihen Queyras and Johannes Moser; Violist Samuel Rhodes of the Juilliard String Quartet; Violinist Guy Braunstein; Mandolinist Avi Avital; pianists James Tocco, Steven Beck, Matan Porat and David Greilsammer; Percadu; the Tel-Aviv Trio; Geneva Chamber Orchestra; Geneva Camerata; Dresden Philharmonie; Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra and the Israeli Chamber Orchestra; String Orchestra of New York City and The Tel Aviv Soloists; Fifth-House Ensemble Chicago; Shuffle Concert; The New Juilliard Ensemble, Kaprizma Ensemble, Israeli Contemporary Players, Meitar Ensemble, The Israeli Chamber Project, and the Fountain Chamber Music Society, of which he was the Composer in Residence (2001-2007).

Jonathan is a winner of the New Juilliard Ensemble competition (2003) and he represented Israel in the ACL (Asian Composers League) young composers’ competition in Tokyo, Japan, 2004. In 2005 Keren was chosen to compose the mandatory contemporary pieces for the Spring Competition in Israel in the wind category. Other commissions have included The Fountain Ensemble, the 92nd Street Y in New York, the Jerusalem Music Center, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, The Jerusalem Academy for Music and Dance, the America-Israel Cultural Foundation, pianist David Greilsammer, the Israeli embassy in Denmark and the prestigious Keshet-Eilon violin mastercourse.

Jonathan began his studies as a violinist with Mr. Chaim Taub (1993-1998). During the course of his military service (1996-1999) as a member of the “outstanding musicians” unit he arranged more than 50 pieces for chamber and vocal ensembles, all of which were performed by military bands and the Israel Defense Force Education Corps Orchestra, as well as in concert halls. Following his service he studied composition with Mr. Reuben Serroussi (1999- 2000). In 2000 he moved to New York to pursue his academic studies at The Juilliard School.

In 2011 Keren returned to Israel, and currently he resides in Switzerland with his wife, violinist Cordelia Hagmann and his two children. Mr. Keren has performed with a number of classical, early music, jazz and folk music groups, including La Mela Di Newton Baroque Trio (2006-2011) Sexteto Rodriguez (Cuban-Jewish Music, 2005-2011), Meitar Ensemble for contemporary music (2011-2014), Trivalazzia Baroque Trio, and The Ottomans (Turkish Music). Today Keren is a member of the Geneva Camerata, and he performs regularly with the orchestra as concertmaster. He has performed in various venues, among them Alice Tully Hall and the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Victoria Hall in Geneva, the opera house in Tel-Aviv and Teatro Comunale Modena in Italy.