About the project

The Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1936 by the Palestine Broadcasting Service as the musical wing of Kol Yerushalayim (the Voice of Jerusalem), the first radio station ever to broadcast in Hebrew. After 1948, it became the symphony orchestra of Kol Yisra’el (the Voice of Israel), the Israeli national radio. Since then it has become the city’s principal orchestra and its largest cultural institution.The ensemble offers subsription series and participates in special festivals and events, including the Liturgica Festival, which celebrates liturgical music of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, the Jerusalem International Chamber Music Festival, the Israel Festival and more. It is a leading performer of contemporary works, particularly those of Israeli composers. The orchestra has toured extensively in Europe, South America and the US. The Henry Crown Symphony Hall at the Jerusalem Center for the Performing Arts serves as its home.The Jerusalem Foundation has provided support for the orchestra since 1979, including support for performances such as the Lord Janner Commemorative Concert, tours, instrument loans, support for immigrant musicians and enrichment programs for children. In introducing the orchestra in 1982, then-Mayor Teddy Kollek said, “…Though this orchestra was originally founded to correspond to broadcasting needs, the very fact that it functioned in Jerusalem made it the pivotal point around which musical and cultural life in the city evolved and revolves. Its growth and the development of its musical quality correspond to the emergence of modern Jerusalem itself…”

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