Avi Bar-Eitan

I joined the Department of Music at Bar-Ilan University in 2022. For the past 25 years I have lectured at the top institutions of higher education in the country, including the Hebrew University and the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. I teach a variety of courses such as Israeli Popular and Folk Music – History, Culture and Genre, Introduction to Jewish Music, Methods in the Research and Analysis of Popular Music, Klezmer Music – Origin and Modes, Theory, Harmony, Ear Training, Counterpoint in the Style of Palestrina, Counterpoint in the Style of Bach, Keyboard Harmony, Orchestration, Acoustics, Instrumentation, Musical Arrangement, and Computer Applications in Music.

My activities as a musician also include the development of music software and equipment with the leading companies in audio modeling, sound processing, virtual reality, and simulation of multidimensional spaces. My work in music technology is part of my research on the development and application of various technological tools in both performance and higher education. I am writing a study on the use of hybrid instruments in composition and performance. Electronic hybrid instruments employ both traditional musical techniques and physical modeling algorithms that allow the instruments both to sound faithful to the acoustic source and to create new sound worlds. In my research, I discuss the innovation in the concept and explore the problems associated with incorporating these instruments into performance. Electro-acoustic sound production is central to experimentation in new music, and music technologies are among the most important components in the creation, distribution, and consumption of popular music, making knowledge and skills in this area extremely relevant to contemporary ethnomusicology.

I am active as composer, arranger and performer. I have written music for over twenty-two plays, composed a musical on a theme from Jewish folklore, and produced and composed music for over thirty albums. I have composed numerous contemporary chamber, choral, multimedia, and film works, and have written arrangements for every size of ensemble (including symphonic) – both scored and computer. I perform regularly (play and conduct) with many ensembles and orchestras in various genres, including Symphoniette Raanana, Sinfonietta Beersheva, Kaprizma Ensemble, Migvan Wind Quintet, Jerusalem Oratorio Choir, and Firqat Alnoor.