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Alumnus Yamen Saadi appointed as new concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic
Congratulations, Yamen Saadi! The former student of the Barenboim-Said Akademie was recently appointed concertmaster of the Vienna State Opera/ Vienna Philharmonic. Saadi completed his studies at the Akademie in 2019 and has been a long-time member of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra after joining at the age of 11. We wish him all the best for his exiting new time in Vienna.
Explore Yamen Saadi's upcoming concerts at the Pierre Boulez Saal.
Yamen Saadi was born in 1997 in Nazareth, where he received his first violin lesson at the Barenboim-Said Conservatory. He was later taught by Chaim Taub, the leader of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Up to the summer of 2019 he ultimately studied under Mihaela Martin at the Barenboim-Said Akademie in Berlin. At the age of eleven, Saadi joined the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, founded and conducted by Daniel Barenboim, of which he became leader just six years later.
Yamen Saadi has received a scholarship from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation on three occasions. In addition, he has been awarded first prize in the Paul Ben Haim Competition and second prize in the Clermont competition. He won first place in violin at the 32nd annual Aviv Competition 2020.
Saadi gave his first solo concert at the age of eleven with the Haifa Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed as a soloist with the Galilee Chamber Orchestra, the Harvard Orchestra, the Israel Netanya Kibbutz Orchestra, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra of Valencia.
Yamen Saadi is an active chamber musician. He has travelled the US, Europe and Asia with several different chamber music ensembles and played in concert halls such as the Philharmonie de Paris and the Pierre Boulez Saal. In addition, he has participated in many festivals, including Rolandseck Festival, the Grachtenfestival, Hamburg International Chamber Music Festival, Gotland Chamber Music Festival, the Kfar Blum Music Festival and the Jerusalem Festival. He has shared the stage with musicians such as Daniel Barenboim, Guy Braunstein, Amichai Grosz, Alisa Weilerstein and Sergei Krylov. Saadi has been a member of the Boulez Ensemble since 2016 and involved in the non-profit organisation Musethica since 2017.
He is currently playing on a violin made by Antonio Stradivari 1734 previously owned and played by Chaim Taub and a Jacob Eury bow, both generously loaned to him by Stephan Jansen.
