Bio

So I began playing classical violin at age six after seeing a child prodigy violinist performing in some talent show on TV. Now don’t ask me why I kept at it after my first year of playing—I really couldn’t tell you.

Over time I started to feel discontent and overwhelmed by the classical school and discipline, so I decided to pursue my angsty rockstar fantasies.
At age 13 I threw away all my tactical skills on the violin and switched to guitar—through which I was exposed to new and exciting
genres like Blues, Jazz, Rock N’ Roll and my eternal idol, Jimi Hendrix.
Through him I learned how to play by ear, how to improvise and how to give away my soul on stage.

At age 15 I started recognizing the potential of trying to improvise on the violin and how special it could be.
Who doesn’t like to feel special? It was then that I decided to take the skills and concepts I learned through guitar about improvisation and non-classical styles of music and develop them on the Violin.
Through this process, I came to know what the term ‘transcribing’ was through my first ever transcribed jazz solo, where I learned Stéphane Grappelli’s solo on “My Melancholy Baby” from a 1939 recording with Django Reinhardt.

Practicing violin without guidance from a teacher allowed me the freedom to explore more eclectic violin playing styles in Jazz, East Indian music, Country music, Celtic music, Balkan music and African music. After seizing lessons in both violin and guitar, I had the privilege of returning to take regular lessons at The Israeli Conservatory of Music, under the direction of my first formal jazz teacher-guitarist, Amos Hoffman, and my first true violin mentor - violinist Delia Jacob, who rekindled me with the love for Classical music.