Gilad is a young saxophone player from Haifa and Arik is a professional saxophone player from Tel Aviv. Arik, who is also one of the founders of the Raz-Ram Foundation, plays saxophone with a Jewish flavor, and appears around the world performing “Jewish Jazz”, has been tutoring Gilad in music for several years. A love of the saxophone is not the only thing they have in common – something else played a critical role in both of their lives – the airplane. Boaz and Arnon were their fathers – and both were pilots who were killed before the births of their sons.
At a very emotional event at the President’s Residence, a poem written by Boaz, Gilad’s father, was read, and Arik and Gilad played a saxophone jazz duet. Gilad continues to develop and fulfill his musical talent, and the sky is the limit ….
The connection with Kfir, a young musician from Beer Sheva, began while he was still a student at a boarding school in Haifa. Kfir applied to the Foundation, and told us that his dream was to be a singer and to study music. Arnon Friedman, a pianist and professional musician who is very active in the Israeli music scene, tutored Kfir in singing, composition and arrangement of his own works. The emotionally charged songs that Kfir composed and arranged, with the musical guidance of Arnon, inspired the Foundation to produce a disc which includes a number of his works, with the participation, on a volunteer basis, of some of Israel’s leading musicians. One of the outstanding pieces on the disc is a song expressing Kfir’s pain over the loss of his beloved father. Now, Kfir’s dream to be a musician is coming true, out of the Tutorship and special connection he developed with Arnon.
In the context of a Creation Project, Udi, a composer and violist, tutored Gilad, a classical singer, an immigrant from the former Soviet Union whose father was killed while was serving in the IDF. Gilad is a dedicated musician, who recently graduated from the Rubin Academy of Music in Tel-Aviv, specializing in composition. While he was a student, Gilad began the tutoring program with Udi, focusing on Solfeggio – a kind of vocal exercise. Gilad and Udi performed together in one of the Foundation’s musical events at the Enav Center in Tel-Aviv, and were enthusiastically received by the audience.
Today, with the tutoring program behind them, Udi and Gilad are leading a classical music project that is unique in Israel: establishment of a small chamber music group which will study and perform the music of Israeli classical music composers. The group is now preparing a musical tribute to the Israel Prize laureate composer Abel Ehrlich, who used music to express the ideas of memory and commemoration. For each composer, selected pieces will be recorded by the group, and a series of discs documenting the project will be issued.
This is the story of a musical connection which started out with individual notes, and has led to the development of an exciting musical and cultural activity.
The Raz-ram Foundation initiates and develops special programs which are connected to its main agendas. The programs have developed over the years through diverse workshops and projects which were lead by experts from the academic fields of’ psychology, the social sciences, artists and art therapists. Those programs offer support, reinforcement and a better opportunity for a significant impact in the life of individuals and communities in today’s society.
![Seed of creation projects [Gariney Yetsira]](https://i0.wp.com/raz-ram.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/BLOG11-1.jpg?resize=300%2C200)