Ofer Canetti

Cellist/Israel

A graduate of the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music at Tel-Aviv University, the Hochschule für Musik in Köln, and the Mozarteum University, Salzburg, and working with, among others, Professors Hillel Zori and Clemens Hagen, Ofer receives regular guidance from his mentor Professor Uzi Wiesel. Ofer has performed as a soloist with many orchestras around the world, such as the Deutsche Kammerakademie Neuss, the Jeaner Philharmonie, Georgische Kammerorchester Ingolstadt, Moscow Chamber Orchestra, and the Haifa Symphony. His debut recital in Carnegie Hall (New York) took place in February 2010. Ofer is regularly invited to teach and perform in many concerts, recitals and festivals around Europe and Israel, where he had the opportunity to collaborate with numerous appreciated musicians such as Howard Klug, Rudolf Koelman, Ida Bieler, Ludwig Mueller, Tomer Lev, James Maddox, Vladimir Ivanov, Boris Giltburg and many others. In 2015, Ofer joined the “Aviv” quartet for concert tours around Israel and Europe, including concerts in the “Gaia Festival” Switzerland and the Wigmore Hall in London. He is a prize winner of the “Bucchi” International Competition for Cello Playing in the 20^th-21^st Centuries (2011), the “Enerico Mainardi Competition,” Salzburg (2012), and the Buchman-Mehta School of Music competitions in the solo instrument and Chamber music categories, as well as of special prizes in the “Allegro Vivo” Festival in Austria, and the “Paul Ben-Haim” competition in Israel. Ofer is also a Winner with Excellence of the American-Israel Cultural Foundation. A founding member of the “Testore Quartet” and the “Testore Ensemble,” these ensembles won several prizes and have had the opportunity to perform in many festivals and concert venues such as the Arnold Schoenberg Center, Vienna and the ORF RadioKulturhaus, Vienna, the “35th Musical evenings of Piran,” the “Tartini Festival” in Slovenia, and in the 2nd “Salzburg Chamber Music Festival.” In 2014, Ofer was one of the principal cellists of the Jenaer Philharmonie, Germany. Since 2010, Ofer has been a Principal Cellist of the “Salzburg Chamber Soloists.” As part of his artistic values, Ofer puts emphasis on performing and recording Israeli compositions such as the full Cello repertoire by Paul Ben-Haim, “Kaddish” by M. Kopytman and “Confession” by N. Sheriff.