Erez Ofer, violin

The young, successful Israeli violinist Erez Ofer has made his name internationally as a soloist, chamber musician and concertmaster. He began his violin studies with Professor Ilona Feher. By the time he was 15, he had performed with Isaac Stern and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. One year later he was accepted into the class of Prof. Josef Gingold at Indiana University and won the I. U. Paganini Competition. After completing his military service, Ofer continued his studies in Germany with Prof. Nicolas Chumanchenco at the Academy of Music in Freiburg. In 1991, Erez Ofer intensified his studies at the Juilliard School in New York with Prof. Dorothy Delay. He has won numerous competitions with his virtuoso violin playing, including the 1^st prize at the ARD Music Competition, Zino Francescatti Competition (France) and the Israeli Radio Music Competition.

In 2002, after serving as concertmaster for the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under Lorin Maazel and the Philadelphia Orchestra under the baton of Wolfgang Sawallisch, Erez Ofer was named first concertmaster of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra (RSB).

He continues to perform as a soloist and chamber musician. Ofer has attracted international attention in recent years, particularly as a member of the Amernet String Quartet, performing with Isaac Stern and Yehudi Menuhin. As a soloist, he has performed with — among others — the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Belgian National Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo as well as the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra; he has performed in New York’s Carnegie Hall, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, the Berlin Philharmonic and Munich’s Gasteig.