OHAD BEN-ARI, composer and pianist

Israeli-born Ohad Ben-Ari's career began with performances as a soloist with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra when he was merely 12 years old. The following year, Ohad Ben-Ari was officially enrolled as a student at Tel-Aviv University, where he studied piano and composition. As a pianist, Ohad has won numerous top prizes at international competitions, among them the ARD and the Arthur Rubinstein Competitions. As a result, he received many invitations to appear in recitals, as a soloist with orchestras and as a chamber musician all around the world. 

In 1996 Ohad headed for the USA and set to work as a music producer specializing in pop and in urban music. In the following years he would work with top American pop artists, appear in major TV shows and record a vast array of styles and repertoire, ranging from Classical to Jazz and Pop. Success followed his joint venture with his sister, violinist Miri Ben-Ari, who won a Grammy Award while working with Ohad on her solo album for Universal Records. 

Since 2010, Ohad Ben-Ari has resided with his family in Berlin. In 2014, he founded the "ID Festival" Berlin, a platform for Israeli artists in Germany, supported by the German Government. Alongside his work with the festival, Ohad has continued to pursue an active career as a performer and composer, frequently collaborating with violinist Guy Braunstein and mandolinist Avi Avital. His past notable collaborations include Alisa Weilerstein, Sol Gabetta, Noah Bendix-Balgley, Emmanuel Pahud, David Orlowsky, Andreas Ottensamer, Ray Chen, and Yuja Wang.

Ohad Ben-Ari has enjoyed a close relationship with the Berliner Philharmoniker since his début in 2014 under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle. He frequently tours as a chamber musician with members of the orchestra. Violins of Hope, Ben-Ari’s piece for strings was commissioned and performed by the Berliner Philharmoniker in 2015.

Many of Ben-Ari's original works and transcriptions are performed worldwide. His first symphonic work, Tips, premiered in early 2013 with the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra. His Marimba Concerto was premiered in Tokyo in 2014, and in 2015, Violins of Hope was commissioned by the Berlin Philharmonic. Ben-Ari's Requiem for choir, organ, and large chamber ensemble premiered in Hamburg in 2018. In 2021, he composed APOPLEXY for the International Violin Competition in Stuttgart. This season, Paterson, a song cycle for mezzo-soprano and orchestra, premieres in Ingolstadt and Hamburg with Magdalena Kožená.