"Roni Porat is one of the most gifted presenters
of concerts in Israel. One of his most captivating qualities is the
easy and unassuming manner in which he delivers his material which is
always precise, concise and digestible. Last night Porat was faced
with a number of challenges: Firstly - to bear in mind that he was
facing an adult audience, secondly - to gauge the extent of their
musical knowledge and gear his comments to areas which needed
elaborating on and thirdly - to throw light on the phenomena - Johann
Sebastian Bach - in a few well chosen words."
Ha aretz, Tel Aviv
"His delivery was easy and listener friendly,
his humor measured and restrained. Porat's secret is to convey small
portions of knowledge in a memorable, even unforgettable way."
Ha aretz, Tel Aviv
"Roni Porat, in presenting a concert to
children, allows them to enjoy. His approach to music education
refuses to conform to convention or to be didactic, but rather a
revelation. Porat does not begin from the obvious, the orchestra, but
builds his orchestra on stage. He instills his young listeners an
appreciation for the wondrous from of music, orchestra, composition,
and not only knowledge. What a joy!"
The Voice of Jerusalem
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... tricks up his
sleeve
Conductor and actor Roni Porat was born in Kibbutz Kedma in 1958. As a
child and young adult he had no formal music training. But his
extraordinary talent, discovered by a member of the Israel
Philharmonic serving as a fellow soldier at the outbreak of the war in
Lebanon, was nurtured at the famed Rubin Academy in Jerusalem. During
summer vacations in Europe he earned money for his tuition with a
guitar in his hands, a bass drum on his back, juggling balls in his
pocket and a few magic tricks up his sleeve. This routine continued
for eight years. His skills as a street performer were honed to a fine
art, his love of performing grew and he developed his own unique way
of communicating with his audience.
All this together with a personal charisma and a huge music talent
made Roni the ideal co-founder of the The Israel Stage Orchestra
(formerly Yad Harif Chamber Orchestra) in 1992. Roni serves as Musical
Director, Principal Conductor and Resident Composer with the
orchestra.
Roni Porat has conducted and presented more than 1,000 concerts. He
has composed original works for the orchestra as well as for theatre
and dance companies. He has conducted all Israeli leading orchestras
including The Israel Philharmonic on a regular basis. His most recent
concerts with the Israel Philharmonic were a performance of
Stravinsky's Rite of Spring -- a theatre concert production, and a
concert dedicated to Leonard Bernstein including Bernstein's
interpretation of Beethoven's 5th. He has written scripts,
collaborated with multitudes of artists and has brought music into the
hearts of some 500,000 people, young and old.
Samples of Roni Porat concert projects include:
Narrated Concerts: In these concerts Roni addresses the audience in
his direct and unique way, interacting through explanations about the
music and vivid examples. Each of the narrated concerts focuses on a
specific aspect of the music world (such as conducting), or a specific
composition (such asThe Rite of Spring).
Dramatized Concerts:
The dramatized concerts bring a different model of orchestral concert
to the musical stage. The orchestra plays the role of an orchestra,
while Roni and one or more actors and singers act a play written
around the theme of the concert. In such a concert all non-musical
information becomes a part of a theatrical, musical, stirring and
seamless event, which has no didactic dimension.
Theatre Concerts:
In a theatre concert event all boundaries between music and theatre
are broken. The orchestra members express themselves as a stage
character in playing, movement and text.
The music played is original, and the script is built and developed by
all orchestra members in a process of collaboration and improvisation.
In a Theatre Concert the traditional order of the black and white clad
and seated orchestra ceases to exist. Playing is part of movement and
text, just as the theatre part is directed according to musical beats,
all embodied in one score.
For much more information, including video and audio clips, visit
http://www.roniporat.com or call Kenneth Wentworth at
914-667-0707.
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