Oren Gross-Thaler
Oren Gross-Thaler
The young conductor Oren Gross-Thaler was born and raised in Tel Aviv, Israel. He conducted Magdeburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Regensburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Festival Strings Lucerne, Aspen Festival Orchestra, Israel Sinfonietta Beer-Sheva, Israel Chamber Orchestra, Raanana Symphonette, and others. In addition, he is Music Director of the Bnei haKibbutzim, Israel’s oldest youth orchestra rooted in the Kibbutz movement
Gross-Thaler began at the age of ten to study saxophone at the Israel Conservatory with Gan Lev. In 2015 he won First Prize in the Israel Conservatory Competition. As a saxophone virtuoso, Gross-Thaler performed as a soloist with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra as well as with other Israeli orchestras and performed around Israel and Europe.
Gross-Thaler was chosen by Noam Sheriff to conduct the world premiere of his musical piece “Lenny”, which was written in honor of Leonard Bernstein’s 100th birth centennial. The piece was commissioned by Regensburg Philharmonic Orchestra, and was given among other compositions of Bernstein in a subscriber’s concert, which received rather positive reviews:
“And whoever didn’t believe a 21-years old rookie would be able to control the big symphonic machine were harshly wrong. The young thin man blossomed from the first bar by full usage of his body language in the music of Bernstein.” “Conducted with passion and big gestures”. “The powerful, always demanding conducting drew everyone’s attention”. “The very fact that he conducted the entire program from memory showed all the professionalism and passion he put into the concert”. “The Philharmonic Orchestra was blooming under this enormous challenge, developing a joyful playing through all its sections, and giving Bernstein’s music that pinch of lightness, which captivates and simply inspires”. (Andreas Meixner, “Mittelbayerische Zeitung”)
“Despite his young age, he proves to be a savvy orchestra leader, who always keeps the intricate rhythms in Bernstein’s scores under control”. “Despite the limited rehearsal time, the evening worked out wonderfully, and the Philharmonic Orchestra became ecstatic from Bernstein’s rhythmically electrifying sounds”.(Gerhard Dietel, “das Orchester”)
“Oren has a tremendous talent, he was born with the dust of the stars. I have seen all of these features already when he was a teenager. I predicted his future capabilities and I am sure that he will be a very big conductor and without a doubt will break into the international consciousness at some point. — What does he have that others don’t have? — He is a performer. He plays saxophone virtuosically. When he is on the stage he doesn’t run away, and it’s not easy to open your mouth when a huge public is in front of you. When he was conducting in Germany, where he received international exposure, his success was phenomenal, and this was the proof that he “has it”. He conducted a perfect concert. Oren is a very dramatic conductor, spicy and accurate. With great talent, he manages to understand a piece in depth, its rhythms and meters”. (Noam Sheriff, “Yedioth Aharonoth Newspaper”)
Studied Music and Philosophy at Tel Aviv University, with a specialization in Music Theory under Prof. Yitzhak Sadai, and received advanced conducting training at the Aspen Music Festival, the Lucerne Festival Conducting Masterclass with Bernard Haitink, the Tanglewood Music Festival, and the Berlin University of the Arts.
