What age did you begin playing a musical instrument?
I started playing when I was 10 years old.
I’m a third-generation musician (my mother was an excellent baroque singer who served as the vocal department’s head at the Jerusalem Academy, and my grandmother and all her siblings were musicians, accompanying silent movies in the 30’s), therefore it was quite natural when my mother asked my older sister and me, if we would like to join the Jerusalem Youth Band. I joined with the trumpet and my sister with the French horn. During the first years I played the trumpet with a sense of obligation towards my parents, keeping the inertia. But later on, slowly and steady, I fell in love with the trumpet, and today I’m so grateful every single day that I’m able and privileged to do what I love for a living. Playing the trumpet unwraps an introspective process for me, researching, discovering and deepening into my soul, and that makes me very happy.

Name an unforgettable moment with the IPO
I have had many different unforgettable moments in which great conductors brought the orchestra and the audiences to unique wonderful moments of spiritual elevation. But the moment I’d like to share happened during a youth concert with Roni Porat. The program focused on Mozart, conducted by Roni Porat and the actor Emmanuel Hanon performed as well. The story pictured Mozart coming back to us for a short time, sharing his experiences and music. At the end of the concert he had to “go back to heaven” and then it happened – the 2nd movement of Mozart’s clarinet concerto was played softly on stage. Emmanuel Hanon, dressed as Mozart, walks off stage and up the hall’s stairs towards the exit, while waving the kids goodbye. All children in the hall were softly and silently waving back, and I head tears in my eyes. It was incredible, to be present in such intimate and moving moment, during this noisy digital era we live in. It showed me how powerful music is and its impact on the human soul. I’m certain that every single boy and girl that were present in that concert will never forget this moment.

What do you love to do off stage?
I love exercising, I swim a lot and am a part of a sea swimming team. Other than sports I love reading, juggling and playing poker. There is an institution in Israel called the Israeli Poker Academy, in which there’s a serious commitment towards the game, and I took a couple classes there. I love the psychological aspect of this game, and understanding that in many ways poker is a microcosm of life…