Bar Zimmerman

Bar Zimmermann, 16 years old, studies the oboe with Omri Raveh and the recorder with Drora Bruck in the Israel Conservatory Tel Aviv. She studies in 11th grade at the classical music class of Thelma Yellin High-School of the Art. She played as a soloist with Meitar Ensemble, with the Thelma Yellin’s Choir, in Israel and Germany and more. She played with the Israel Chamber Orchestra and she is a member of the Tedarim Project.  She won prizes in many competitions in Israel and abroad and got many excellence scholarships. Bar has received scholarships from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation since 2012, both in oboe and recorder.

1) What or who inspired you to want to be an artist?
When I was young, my parents exposed me to many kinds of fields. I had a lot of hobbies, but I especially loved art because I felt I can express myself through the art, change people’s emotions and also that it gives a spiritual experience. As a part of a school program, I was asked to choose a music instrument to play on. I wanted to choose the violin, but my parents didn’t allow me because I have an identical twin sister who asked to play the violin just before me, and they decided that we can’t play the same instrument, so I choose the recorder. I fell in love with the instrument from the first lesson. I played and listened to music a lot and I realized that I loved to express myself with the music. I felt the playing can change the audience’s feelings.

2) What was your creative journey that has brought you to where you are in your career today?
I think my creative journey is based on everything I has experienced in my life. For me, my playing is a way to express feelings which I have experienced by interacting with people, nature, stories, dreams and everything in life. I was affected by other hobbies I had in childhood like painting, sculpting, acting, dancing, singing and sports. Although I don’t have much time to do all this in my daily life, I often go to museums, plays, concerts and movies. I love to see and try new things all the time and I feel it gives me inspiration so I enjoy going there and learning from it. Last year I played with Meitar Ensemble and I was very excited to be exposed to a music genre that was new to me. It opened my eyes and I was amazed by them and learned so much from working with them. This year I joined the Tedarim project and It is an amazing opportunity for me, I am so happy I have the opportunity to learn and work there. But a big part of my life and my creative journey is my family, who has supported me for every step along the way, and my music teachers- my former teachers Michael Lam and Ganit Polin and my present teachers Drora Bruck and Omri Raveh, from whom I was influenced and learned not only about music but also about life. They have helped and guided me through everything in my life and in my journey. Every project I have done, and every person I met brought me to where I am today and affected me in some way.

3) What do you need as an artist today?
Especially as a student, I would like to keep preforming, creating, studying and growing and I think it’s important for me to play with other musicians, take a part in master classes and preform all over the world. In addition, to be an artist today I need an audience who is interested in being exposed to different kinds of music. The audience must want to take part in the musical experience, and listen to what the artist is trying to pass through his music. The most excited thing for me after a performance is when I see or talk with someone who tells me he enjoyed my playing or got excited from it. This is the biggest achievement for me, because then I know my art affects others. This is the fulfillment of my goal, which involved a lot of thought, emotional involvement, effort and work.

4) What creative project are you working on now?
A few weeks ago I returned from an international recorder competition in Amsterdam, Nederland, in which I won the third prize, and yesterday I participated in a scholarship competition of the Israel Conservatory of Music Tel Aviv and won the first prize. I start working on my final recital which will be next school year and I will audition for the IDF Musicians of Excellence program. I also hope that I will be able to participate in a course of baroque music in Switzerland which will be lead by Maurice Steger.

5) Where do you see yourself and your career in 10 years?
In 10 years I see myself working with musical colleagues on different projects. I hope I will have the opportunities to play in different forms: as a soloist, in orchestras, ensembles and more, which will take me around the world.

6) What does it mean to you to be an Israeli artist?
My father’s parents were holocaust survivor and my mom’s parents lived in the Kibbutz. I feel very proud to be an Israeli artist because it means for me that I represent my country and my nation, which is rich in its historic, artistic, and musical culture. It’s very exciting for me and it makes me proud to represent Israel in different countries and in the competitions I attend. That is one of the reasons I am excited to play Israeli pieces abroad.

7) What does it mean to you to have an organization like the America-Israel Cultural Foundation supporting Israeli culture in the past 75 years?
The AICF allows me to accomplish everything I do. Without the AICF I would not have been where I am today. Beyond the financial aspects, which allow my family to support me, the AICF allows me to reach excellence to which I aspire, and be the best I can be. The AICF supports me along my creative journey for many years and it is very important for me to know there is a wonderful organization which supports Israeli culture for many years.