Biography
Hailed by The New York Times as "an attractive, engaging presence on stage," internationally renowned violist Ori Kam joins the Shepherd School of Music faculty in the fall of 2027. Kam’s appointment follows a distinguished tenure as violist of the Jerusalem String Quartet, a position he concluded in 2025 after 15 years of international acclaim. Kam joins the Shepherd School from the Kunst-Universität Graz in Austria and previously taught for 13 years at the University of Geneva in Switzerland.
Ori Kam has performed as a soloist on some of the world's premier stages. Following his debut at the age of 16 with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Zubin Mehta, Kam has performed with nearly every orchestra in Israel, the National Symphony (Washington, D.C.), New Jersey Symphony, Duesseldorfer Symphoniker, Kioi Symphonietta (Tokyo), Bronxville Symphony, Manhattan Philharmonia, and Sinfonia Varsovia.
Kam is a frequent recitalist and has performed extensively throughout the U.S., Europe, and Israel. His recital appearance at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall received reviews such as "(Kam is) a rare viola soloist," and "Mr. Kam's playing (was) at once mature and youthfully exuberant."
As an avid performer of chamber music, Kam founded the Israel Chamber Music Society and was formerly violist of the Naumburg award-winning Whitman String Quartet. He also founded the Kam-Porat Trio with his sister Sharon and pianist Matan Porat. Independently, he has appeared alongside renowned artists including Isaac Stern, Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, Andras Schiff, Itzhak Perlman, and Pinchas Zukerman. He has performed with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and was a guest artist in numerous festivals including Salzburg, Verbier, Tanglewood, Aspen, Santa Fe, Schleswig-Holstein, La Jolla, the Schubertiade, and the Jerusalem Chamber Music Festival.
Kam was born to Israeli parents in La Jolla, California in 1975, and grew up in Israel. He started his musical education at the age of 6, and began playing the viola at 15. In Israel, he studied with renowned teacher Chaim Taub, and between 1994 and 1997, studied with Pinchas Zukerman and Patinka Kopec at the Manhattan School of Music in New York. Later, he concluded his studies with Wilfried Strehle at the University of the Arts in Berlin. Between 2004 and 2006, he was a member of the Berliner Philharmoniker.
Kam has been the winner of several awards and prizes including The Swiss Prize at the Geneva International Music Competition, the "Paganini" Prize in the International Lionel Tertis Competition, and in 1995 was the winner of the concerto competition at the Manhattan School of Music. In 2010, he was awarded the S&R Washington Award grand prize. From 1990 to 2000, he was a recipient of scholarships from the America-Israel Culture Foundation.
In 2007, Kam released his first commercial recording under the "Berlin Classics" label, the Bruch Double concerto for viola and clarinet, with his sister Sharon. A CD of the 12 Telemann Fantasies for solo viola followed in 2010 on the same label. His latest release was an album with the Kam-Porat trio on Orfeo (2019), and can also be heard on Deutsche Gramophone, Decca, and Naxos Labels. With the Jerusalem Quartet, Kam released 9 records for Harmonia Mundi.
