Itay Talgam

Prominent Israeli Orchestra Conductor

BIG IDEAS

• Music As A Metaphor for Conducting Business
  Music embodies knowledge and innovation, individual effort and collective achievement, and offers a work environment that is full of opportunities for excellence and self-actualization – just as any successful business. Itay Talgam founded the “Maestro Programs” on the belief that in the orchestra, as in the work place, music has the power to create community and reinforce shared values. These exciting programs present the essential elements necessary in achieving excellence in orchestral performances and how they transform into powerful metaphors for the corporate world. Using a range of innovative techniques, Itay's energetic and thought-provoking presentations challenge standard thinking and offer participants a fresh perspective on a range of organizational issues including leadership, management and collaboration.

SNAPSHOT BIO

Conductor Itay Talgam is one of the leading figures in the Israeli music scene and is a champion of contemporary music. His outstanding achievements have been acknowledged by audiences, critics, as well as by Israel’s Composers Association, which awarded him an honorary prize for his personal contribution in performing and promoting Israeli music.

As Music Director of the Tel-Aviv Symphony Orchestra and of Musica Nova Consort, Talgam won the prestigious prize for “Best Performance of the Year” for Israeli orchestral music awarded by the National Council for the Arts.

Itay’s international debut took place in 1987, when he was chosen by Leonard Bernstein to perform in a special concert with the Orchestre de Paris, with the great Maestro himself conducting the second half of the same concert. Since that highly successful performance, Itay has conducted many orchestras around the globe - being the first Israeli conductor to perform with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra and with the Leipzig Opera House.

A native of Tel-Aviv, Itay received his Artist Diploma in Conducting from the Jerusalem Rubin Academy in 1987, being awarded scholarships from the America-Israel cultural foundation. He then studied in the Accademia Chigiana, Siena, with Maestri Franco Ferrara and Guenady Rozhdestvensky and in Tanglewood, under Maestri Seiji Osawa, Leon Fleisher and Lenny Bernstein. In addition, he studied General Philosophy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, winning his degree “Cum Laude”.

Itay Talgam has taught orchestral conducting at the Rubin Academy for music, Tel-Aviv University, and the Academy for Music and Dance in Jerusalem. In addition to his current conducting activities, he is intensely involved in many educational projects, both as a Fellow of the Mandel School for Educational Leadership in Jerusalem, and as the creator of the unique ‘Maestro’ leadership programs. He is also a member of the Israeli National Council for the Arts music section.

ENGAGEMENTS
How have other organizations utilized Itay's expertise, and what's ahead on his schedule?

As lecturer and facilitator of his "Maestro Programs," Itay has been invited as a keynote speaker to many of the world's leading conferences, including Google's ZeitGeist 2008, DLD 2008 and 2009, LeWeb 2008,  PICNIC, and TED Global 2008. Other events include WPP's STREAM un-conferences 2007 and 2008, KINNERNET un-conferences 2006-2008, ICUC, EDGE 2008, and many more.

In addition to presenting keynote addresses globally, Itay has brought his 'Maestro' workshops to many world class organizations. Included, among others, senior management of financial institutions (Credit Swiss, Swiss Re),  hi-tech & IT (Intel,Google, HP, Motorola), government organizations and civil service (Scotland, Israel, Singapure), educational institutions (Leading Universities and Business Schools in England & Israel), health organizations and charities (South Africa), hotels (HILTON), communication (Orange), publicity (WPP), and hundreds of other organizations.