2020 Aviv Competitions

The Winners Concert – Thursday / 9.1.2020 / 20:00 in co-operation with “The Israeli Chamber Project”

The Aviv Competitions were founded by America-Israel Cultural Foundation in 1999 and provide vital support and exposure to top-tier musicians ages 21-32 to help propel their careers to the next level.  Early career musicians perform before panels of distinguished judges, critics, and audiences, providing them with invaluable exposure and access to leading members of the industry, media, and the general public.

This year, 32 musicians between the ages of 21-32 competed in the following categories: piano, violin, viola, woodwinds instruments and composition. 

Winners in all categories performed in a special concert on Thursday, January 9th, 2020 at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. The concert evening included chamber music, solo pieces and personal introductions of the award winners. The winning piece for composition was performed by The Israeli Chamber Music Project, whose members are: Tibi Zeiger (clarinet), Guy Eshed (flute), Jonathan Keren (violin), Michal Korman (cello). 

2020 Competition Prizes

Piano Prize

The Rafi Girlanik Prize, donated by Guralnik family, in the sum of $6,000 was awarded to: Almog Segal

Violin Prize

The Ilona Kornhauser Prize, donated by the Kornhauser family of the Canada-Israel Cultural Foundation, in the sum of $6,000 was awarded to: Yamen Saadi

Viola Prize

The Rachel and Dov Gottesman Family Prize, in the sum of $6,000 was awarded to: Maya Tal

Woodwinds Prize

The Susan and Emanuel (Bob) Kornhauser Prize, donated by Kornhauser family of the Canada-Israel Cultural Foundation, in the sum of $6,000 was awarded to: Jonathan Leibowitz

Composition Prize

The François Schapira Prize, in the sum of $6,000 was awarded to: Udi Perlman

The Outstanding Performance of the Israeli Instrumental Piece Prize

America-Israel Cultural Foundation, in the sum of 15,000 NIS was awarded to: Almog Segal (piano) and Jonathan Leibowitz (Clarinet)

Audience Choice Prize

The Meira Geyra Prize, donated by the Gottesman Family, in the sum of $2,000 was awarded to: Almog Segal (piano)

Schedule

The Candidates

Jury

Woodwinds

Ariel Zuckermann, Chen Halevi, Hana Ajiashvili, Shirley Brill, Zeev Dorman, Bruce Weinstein

Violin

Alexander Pavlovsky, Carmit Zori, Gershon Gerchikov, Maria Azova, Erel Paz

Piano

Aviram Reichert, Miri Yampolsky, Gilad Misory, Raz Binyamni, Matan Porat

Viola

Shuli Waterman, Uri Vardi, Ori Kam, Lior Navok, Amir Van Der Hal

Composition

Betty Olivero, Amit Dolberg, Pierre-Andre Valade, Matan Porat, Gilad Misory

Board of 2020 Aviv Competitions

Avigail Arnheim – Chair
Iris Reff Ronen – Executive Director, AICF Israel and US
Liora Kvoras-Hadar – AICF Israel Board
Kristina Reiko-Cooper – AICF Israel Board
Hed Sella – Musical Project manager & Consultant
Tali Hermetz – Tel Aviv Museum of Art
Sharon Shwartz – Tel Aviv Museum of Art

Production

Netta Pnini – Competitions Manager, AICF Israel
AICF – Israel team
Social Media: “Analog”, Sofia Nimelstein
Public Relations : “Dolphin”
Graphic Design: “The League”
Language and music content editing: Ron Merhavi