Michael Wolpe

Dr. Michael Wolpe, an Israeli composer, born in 1960 Tel- Aviv, has been a member of Kibbutz Sde-Boker for the last 30 years. He studied composition in the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, and in Cambridge University in England. He is also a graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he wrote his PHD about the British Symphony during the mid- twentieth century. Dr. Wolpe is presently the head of the composition and conducting department in the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance and also teaches in several schools in Jerusalem and southern Israel.
Wolpe is the Musical Director of two Festivals which are dedicated to original Israeli music: "Sounds in the Desert" and the Israeli Music Celebration.
Wolpe's compositions encompass a wide variety of genres: symphonic, vocal, chamber, and dramatic. He also writes music for holidays and special events on his kibbutz. Among his recent works are a cycle of six symphonic poems based on Mediterranean material, a series of concerts for various solo folk instruments and orchestra, and a broad composition for a big chamber ensemble.
Wolpe has been awarded several prizes, including The Composers' Union Prize and the Prime Minister's Prize’ and The ACUM (artistic rights union) Honorary Prize for his whole artistic activity. He has released several CD 's of his music, among them his cello concerto, which has been highly acclaimed also in Israel and in Europe.