Draft:Bracha Bdil

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Bracha Bdil (original name Baddiel; born on November 24, 1988) is an Israeli-British composer, arranger, conductor and lecturer, writes poetry and stories and engages in literature research. Winner of the Prime Minister's Prize for Composers for 2022 (Israel).

Biography

Bdil was born in Jerusalem to British parents who immigrated to Israel in 1972 and is the youngest of twelve children. Until the age of six she grew up in Kiryat Ye'arim (Telz-Stone) and then her family moved to Jerusalem.

Bdil's father is from an orthodox family of cantors, the son of an English father and a mother who immigrated from Berlin (née Rosenberg). His grandfather, Rabbi David Bdil, was one of the founders of the Gateshead community in England.

Bdil's mother (daughter of a Scottish father, Speculand, and an English mother, nee Samuel) is from the British aristocracy dynasty; Lord Herbert Samuel - the first high commissioner in Israel during the British Mandate - was her mother's uncle.

Bdil started to play the electronic pedal organ at the age of 10; At the age of 14, she added the accordion to her studies; And at the age of 17 she moved on to piano studies. She later studied classical piano with Dina Orlov and Irina Berkovich, jazz piano with Marina Levinsky, classical singing with Hadassah Ben Haim and conducting under the direction of Elli Jaffe and Evgeny Tsirlin.

Bdil studied for a Bachelor's degree in music education at the Levinsky College of Education (Jerusalem branch) and completed her master's degree at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. She continued her studies at the same academy and graduated with a Master's degree in composition under the supervision of the late Prof. Andre Hajdu and Prof. Haim Permont. Later, she continued to study for a qualified degree in comparative literature at the Hebrew University at Mount Scopus in Jerusalem, where her thesis "Composing Prose" dealt with the relationship between music and prose in the writing of Thomas Bernhard.

Bdil served as a music teacher and as a lecturer for theoretical and practical subjects: theory, ear training, harmony and improvisation. She taught at the Ron Shulamit Conservatory, Levinsky College and Jerusalem College.

Bdil's list of works includes orchestral, chamber, soloist, vocal and electronic music. Her writing is multi-stylistic and influenced, among other things, by the classical, Jewish, folk and popular traditions. Some of her works strive to blend tradition with innovation and are written in a post-tonal, modal, neo-baroque/classical language, and sometimes mix several different styles within a single work.

Bdil's compositions won first prizes in Israel and around the world. In 2019, Bdil won the Haim Alexander Acum Prize, and in 2022 she won the Prime Minister's Prize for Composers (Israel). Her Holocaust composition "Yizkerem", for an a cappella choir, represented Israel at the Asian Composers League (ACL) held in Taiwan in 2018.

Bracha Bdil is a member of the Israel Composers' League and her works are published by the Israel Music Institute and ICL.

Beginning in the fall of 2018, Bracha became the artistic director and chief conductor of the Zmora Women's Orchestra of the Ron Shulamit Conservatory in Jerusalem.

From the jury's reasons for awarding her the Prime Minister's Award:

"Bracha Bdil's writing brings a personal and cohesive voice, which is expressed in the entirety of her vocal, symphonic, and chamber works. She deals with national and universal issues from a personal and unconventional point of view where her Jewish identity is expressed with confidence in her works by integrating national themes and symbols into the classical school of composition. Her compositional abilities reflect clarity of expression and sharpness of message. Bdil's works capture the listeners with their sincerity and beauty, and are rightfully awarded performances in Israel and around the world".

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First prizes

• George Ștephănescu International Composition Competition, Romania (2024)

• Symphony Kyoto Concours, County Hall Arts competition, UK (2023)

• MaestrosVision Awards International Composition Competition, China (2022)

• The International Symphony Orchestra Composition Contest named after Michal Kleofas Oginski, Belarus (2021)

• The Electo Silva International Choir Festival, Santiago de Cuba (2021)

• Donne In Musica XVIII Composition Competition, Serbia (2021)

• The VIII and the IX International Piano & Composition Competition, ULJUS, Serbia (2021)

• The Wolf Durmashkin Composition Award, Germany (2018)

• The Yardena Alotin Composition Competition, Bar-Ilan University, Israel (2016)

Of her compositions

Orchestral

• Genesis - symphonic poem for tenor, male choir, shofar and symphony orchestra

• Mediterranean Suite - for symphony orchestra

• Streams - for symphony orchestra

• Eshet Chail Symphony - for soprano, alto, female choir and symphony orchestra

• Homage - concerto for piano and string orchestra

• Homage to Koussevitzky - for double-bass and string orchestra

• The Hippopotamus Speech - for double bass and string orchestra

• Tombs are Growing Here - for double-bass and string orchestra

Vocal

• Yizkerem (May Our Lord Remember Them) - for a cappella choir

• Birds Fête - for a cappella choir

• What is Peace? – for female choir and piano

• Lament with Prayer - for soprano, women's choir, piano and percussion

• Day of Judgment - for tenor and horn

• The Doctor's Prayer - for bass-baritone, trombone and stereo

• Heterophony – for soprano, flute, violin and cello

• The Inner Soul - cycle of songs for soprano and piano

• Gnomes of the Night - for soprano and piano

• Snowman - for soprano and piano

Chamber

• Modal Suite - for piano four hands • Planned Chaos - for string quartet / saxophone quartet • Pictures of Kyoto - for flute quartet

• In Memory of Voices - for clarinet, violin, viola and cello

• The Year 2022: Solemn Overture - for flute and large chamber ensemble

• Metamorphoses on the theme of "Hava Nagila" - for clarinet and piano

• Flöte am Bach – for two flutes

• Oasis - for clarinet and piano

Solo

• Shofar - for piano

• Platonic Resono - for piano

• Variations - for piano

• An Ode to Bach - for piano

• Piano Amusements - for piano

• Fragrance Blues - for piano

• Parody Waltz - for piano

• Ponary Toccata - for marimba and vibraphone (single player)

• Modal Fragments - for harp

• Three Monologues - for flute

• Wind - for guitar

• Hello, is Ludwig There? – for timpani

Electronic

• Sanctified

• Inhalation Space

• UrbaNature

See also

Bracha Bdil's blog

http://brachabdil.blogspot.co.il/

Bracha Bdil's YouTube channel

https://www.youtube.com/@brachabdil8216

Bracha Bdil on Spotify

https://open.spotify.com/artist/6Hh4rnHSpAwfTi8E6jUuQC

Bracha Bdil on Discogs

https://www.discogs.com/artist/5763647-Bracha-Bdil

Bracha Bdil on the County Hall Arts website

https://www.countyhallarts.com/?s=Bracha+Bdil

YouTube channel of the Zmora orchestra

https://www.youtube.com/@zmorawomensorchestra5772

Jewish Standard

https://jewishstandard.timesofisrael.com/turning-horror-to-hope/

Deutsche Musikinformationszentrum (miz) (German)

https://miz.org/de/nachrichten/jury-des-wolf-durmashkin-composition-awards-gibt-preistraegerinnen-bekannt-n15422