<strong>Asst. Principal</strong>

Dmitry Ratush, assistant principal violist of the Israel Philharmonic orchestra since 2004 and founding member of the IPO Richter string quartet, made his debut in New York at the Merkin Concert Hall in 1991. Dmitry, among the leading string players in Israel. He was principal violist of the Bern Symphony orchestra in Switzerland  and  regulary takes part in important projects as guest principal violist of the Orquestra de la Comunitat  Valenciana, Palau del les Artes (Spain) under the baton of Zubin Mehta.

In 1990 Dmitry Ratush and his family left Russia and settled in Israel. In the same year he had begun his studies at the Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem with world- renowned viola virtuoso Michael Kugel. Graduating from Jerusalem Academy in 1994, Mr. Ratush continued his studies in Dallas, Texas at SMU, Meadows School of the Arts with Dr. E.Schmieder and Professor B.Hustis.

Dmitry Ratush is a founding member of the Chamber Ensemble Millennium, at Targ Music Center in Jerusalem. With the ensemble, Dmitry appeared on a number of  life broadcasts of  Kol Hamusica, the Israel’ Classical Music Channel and recorded two SDs. Admired by his colleagues and audiences as a chamber music partner he has performed regularly in Israel Festival and Voice of Music Festival in the Upper Galilee. Also Mr. Ratush appears as a soloist and chamber musician all over the world in International Festivals and Chamber Music Series

<strong>Principal</strong>

Oboist Dudu Carmel is a winner of the 1996 International Oboe Competition in Toulon, France and the 1990 François Shapira prize in Israel. He serves as principal oboist of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, and he is faculty member of the Winds Department at both the Jerusalem Academy of Music and the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music, Tel Aviv University.

As soloist he performed with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Zubin Mehta, with the Budapest Festival Orchestra under Ivan Fischer; with the Quebec Symphony Orchestra under Yoav Talmi, and with orchestras in Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, France and Poland. He gave recitals in prestigious concert halls, such as the Chamber Music hall of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, he has recorded for radio stations in Europe and Israel and participated in chamber music festivals in Israel, Germany, Switzerland and Brazil.

Together with Prof. Thomas Indermühle, founder of The Oboe Festival in Palma de Mallorca in Spain, Dudu Carmel has been giving yearly master-classes there in addition to master classes he gives around the globe. Between the years 1992-1997, he was the principal oboist of the New Israeli Opera Orchestra, and since 1998 he has been playing as a guest oboist with the Budapest Festival orchestra. He studied at the Rubin Academy of Music in Tel-Aviv and received his KA Diploma from the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe, Germany, as a student of Prof. Thomas Indermühle.

Dudu Carmel is a founding member of the Israel Woodwind Quintet. He recorded label CD’s for the Israel Music Center, Camerata, Meridian, Centaur Records and DUX.