Itamar Zorman

Early life

Zorman was born in Tel Aviv son of Israeli pianist Astrith Baltsan and composer Moshe Zorman. At the age of six he began taking violin lessons with Saly Bockel at the Israeli Conservatory of Music in his hometown, from which he graduated in 2003 after also taking lessons from both Professor David Chen and Nava Milo respectively. Later on he graduated from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance with bachelor's degree where he was Hagai Shaham student. In 2009 he obtained master's degree from the Juilliard School where his violin instructors were Robert Mann and Sylvia Rosenberg and then got his Diploma in Arts from the Manhattan School of Music a year later following by another one from Jilliard as well. Currently he is a student of Christian Tetzlaff at the Kronberg Academy where he plays 1745 Pietro Guarneri violin which was given to him by Yehuda Zisapel.

Awards

In 2011 Itamar became the second prize winner of the International Tchaikovsky Competition and the same year won both the Arriaga Competition and grand prize at the Coleman Chamber Music Competition. In 2012 he became a winner of the Concert Artists Guild Competition and in 2013 was awarded Avery Fisher Career Grant as well as a scholarship from the America Israel Cultural Foundation.

Performances

As a violinist, Itamar has appeared with such musicians as Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zuckerman, Shlomo Mintz, Ida Handel and Ivry Gitlis and was known for his violin performances at the Israeli music centers such as Keshet Eilon and Voice of Music as well as such American venues as the Aspen Music Festival and School and the Heifetz International Music Institute, founded by violinist Daniel Heifetz. In 2010 he played the Mozart concerto and by April 2011 performed at the Juilliard Berg Concerto Competition/ His first public appearance, however, was not until next year at the Verbier Festival, which was broadcast live from Switzerland. The same year he did nine concerts with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under guidance from David Robertson and performed at the Tokyo Symphony of Japan's Suntory Hall, where he played with Baden Baden Philharmonic and both Russian and Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as the American South Bay Conservatory, the Israeli Haifa Symphony and the Dominican Fundación Sinfonia of Santo Domingo.

As of October 2013, he has participated at both the Laeiszhalle in Hamburg and Kronberg Academy Festival in Frankfurt as well as with Yuri Bashmet. His first CD is planned to be released sometime in 2014 with his recitals the Louvre. In November of the same year he, Daniel Oren and Musicians from Marlboro group, will perform Ludwig van Beethoven's concerto at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo. For the past five years he has traveled through Israel and North America during which he was a founder of the Israeli Chamber Project as well as a Lysander Piano Trio member. On March 9, 2014 he performed one of Johannes Brahms’ sonatas in Detroit under guidance from Pauline Martin.