About this Artist
YARON DEUTSCH (born in Israel in 1978) is a guitarist and artistic director of Ensemble Nikel. At age 18, he founded and led his first group – Ofek III – a fusion trio playing his own compositions. In 1999, he enrolled and did his studies at the Rubin Academy for Music and Dance in Jerusalem under the instruction of guitarists Steve Paskof and Yossi Levi. In 2006, with saxophonist Gan Lev he founded the Tel Aviv based-Ensemble for Contemporary Music – Ensemble Nikel.
With the ensemble and as a soloist he has frequently collaborated with both established and young composers, giving world premieres to pieces by Michael Beil, Franck Bedrossian, Pierluigi Billone, Raphaël Cendo, Chaya Czernowin, Clemens Gadenstätter, Bernard Gander, Philippe Hurel, Eduardo Moguillansky, Marco Momi, Helmut Oehring, Stefan Prins, and Michael Wertmüller, to name a few.
As a guest performer he regularly plays with Ensemble Klangforum Wien. He has also made occasional guest performances with Ensemble Ascolta (Stuttgart), Ensemble Court Circuit (Paris), Ensemble Ictus (Brussels), Ensemble Phace (Vienna), Ensemble musikFabrik (Köln), Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, RAI Orchestra (Turin), Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, and Luzerner Sinfonieorchester, playing under conductors Baldur Brönnimann, Peter Eötvös, Johannes Kalitzke, Zubin Mehta, Georges Elie Octors, Emilio Pomarico, Pascal Rophé, and Steven Sloane, among others.
In addition he is also a member of the free improv trio Ministry of Bad Decisions, with drummer Brian Archinal and composer-improviser Stefan Prins. Besides being an active musician, Deutsch is also the director of Tzlil Meudcan – The International Summer Course & Festival for Contemporary Music in Israel. It is a structure he initiated and established for the promotion of contemporary music, where composers Chaya Czernowin and Steven Takasugi lead the composition class and performers from various leading ensembles in Europe coach young performers in contemporary music performance.
Deutsch currently spends his time between Tivo’n and Vienna.
His discography incudes Wittener Tage für Neue Musik 2014 (WDR3), Shifting Gravity – Chaya Czernowin (Wergo), Fremdkoerper – Stefan Prins (SubRosa), Donaueschinger Musiktage 2012 (Neos), Portrait – Clemens Gadenstätter (Col Legno), and New Music From Israel (Haifa University).