Michael Wolpe

Michael Wolpe (born 1960) is an Israeli composer, teacher, and conductor.

Michael Wolpe was born in Tel Aviv in 1960, and studied in the Pardes Hana Agricultural Highschool. He did his regular army service first as a paratrooper and later in the education corps. He studied composition in the Jerusalem Academy of Music and in Cambridge University in England. He earned a PhD in Music, writing about "British Symphony the mid-20th century" under the direction of Yehoash Hirshberg of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Among his teacher were Tzvi Avni, Haim Alexander, Mark Kopytman and Alexander Goehr. One of Israel's foremost music educators, Michael Wolpe teaches at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, where he serves as the head of the composition and conducting departments. Wolpe was the founder of the music track in the renowned Israel Arts and Science Academy in Jerusalem, and taught there alongside composer Andre Hajdu. Between 2005-2011 he also served as the artistic director of the Days of Israeli Music Festival.

Michael Wolpe joined Kibbutz Sde Boker in the Negev twenty years ago. He has dedicated himself to comprehensive musical activity in the region. Among other projects, he founded the "Sounds in the Desert" festival held in Ramat Hanegev. This music festival, held annually in Hanukkah, is dedicated to original Israeli music.

Wolpe's work is significantly influenced by formative experiences that are part of the Israeli culture. Active military reserve duty including fighting in the first Lebanon War and his love to Hebrew songs. This influence is expressed in a humanistic outlook which aims to bring all parts of Israeli society closer and in many art projects commemorating past Israeli artists and in pushing forward current artists and performers. An additional influence is the death of his mother when he was 14, and in whose memory he composed a Stabat Mater. Especially notable are the pieces he wrote for the Caprizma ensemble from Jerusalem, which he co-founded with guitarist Hanan Feinsein and viola player Gadi Abbadi. Wolpe composed nine extensive pieces for the ensemble ("Caprizma" no. 1-9), three song cycles and additional pieces. The latest piece written for the Caprizma group is "The Twelve Months[Moons]) for thirteen players, which describes the Hebrew Calendar. Additionally he wrote many pieces for recorder and for the recorder player Drora Bruck.

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