Biography
Hailed by the New York Times as "an attractive, engaging presence on stage," violist Ori Kam has performed as soloist on some of the world's premier stages. After his debut at the age of 16 with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Zubin Mehta, he was immediately re-engaged. Since then, he has performed with the leading orchestras of Israel, the National Symphony (Washington DC), the New Jersey Symphony, the Duesseldorfer Symphoniker, the Kioi Symphonietta (Tokyo), and Sinfonia Varsovia.
Ori is a frequent recitalist and has performed extensively throughout North and South America, Europe, and Israel. His recital appearance at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall received reviews such as "(Kam is) a rare viola soloist," and "Ori's playing (was) at once mature and youthfully exuberant."
As an avid performer of chamber music, Ori was the violist of the Jerusalem String Quartet, and left the group in the fall of 2025. He is the founder of the Kam-Porat Trio with his sister Sharon and pianist Matan Porat. He also founded the Israel Chamber Music Society and was the violist of the Naumburg award winning Whitman String Quartet. Independently, he has appeared alongside artists such as 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 guest artist in numerous festivals including Salzburg, Verbier, Tanglewood, Aspen, Santa-Fe, Schleswig-Holstein, La Jolla, the Schubertiade, and the Jerusalem Chamber Music Festival.
Ori was born to Israeli parents in La Jolla, CA 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.
Ori has been the winner of several awards and prizes including The Swiss Prize at the Geneva Int'l Music Competition, The "Paganini" Prize in the Int'l Lionel Tertis Competition, and in '95 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 has been a recipient of scholarships from the America-Israel Culture Foundation. Starting in 2010 he served as professor of viola at the University of Geneva (Switzerland), and since 2024 took up a professorship at the Kunst Universität Graz (Austria). Starting in Summer 2027, he will join the faculty of Rice University's Shepherd School of Music as Professor of Viola.
In 2007, Ori released his first commercial recording under the "Berlin Classics" label of the Bruch Double Concerto for viola and clarinet, which he recorded with his sister Sharon. A CD of the 12 Telemann Fantasies for solo viola followed in 2010 on the same label. With the Jerusalem Quartet he released 9 records for Harmonia Mundi, and most recently a recording of Shostakovich String Quartets for BIS. He can also be heard on Deutsche Grammophon, Decca and Naxos labels. His most recent release is an album with the Kam-Porat Trio on Orfeo.
