Itamar Erez

Itamar Erez is an Israeli-born Canadian composer, pianist, and guitarist whose breadth of expression spans European classical to jazz, world music, and beyond. Growing up in Tel-Aviv, Israel, Erez received several annual grants from the America-Israel Cultural Fund to support his early studies of guitar, piano, and composition. He studied composition at the Robert Schumann Musikhochschule in Dusseldorf, Germany with Manfred Trojahn and with Simon Bainbridge at the Guildhall School of Music in London, England. His music blends Middle Eastern, jazz, and flamenco influences into a distinctive sound. In 2007, Itamar joined the group of Sufi maestro Omar Faruk Tekbilek and tours with him internationally. Throughout his career, Itamar has performed at prestigious venues including Barbican Hall in London, Sydney Opera House, Jerusalem Jazz Festival, Oman Opera House, the Megaron in Athens, Amsterdam Jewish Music Festival, Vancouver International Jazz Festival, and Carnegie Hall. Erez is the recipient of the 2014 ACUM Prize for Special Achievement in Jazz and the prestigious 2014 Landau Prize. He also received the Israeli Prime Minister Prize for Composers. His 2019 CD "Mi Alegria" was released with support from the Canada Council for the Arts and received a nomination for the 2020 Instrumental Artist of the Year Award from the Canadian Folk Music Awards. Itamar teaches at the guitar, jazz, and world music faculty at the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra School of Music. His work as both a guitarist and pianist, combined with his compositional skills, makes him a unique voice bridging cultures and musical traditions.

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